Good morning to the Chairperson of the IEC, Mosotho Moepya,
CEO of the IEC, Sy Mamabolo,
Members of the IEC Management Team,
Stakeholders,
Valued guests,
Our meeting here today comes at an opportune time.

Following the outcome of the 2024 general elections and the formation of the Government of National Unity, the Home Affairs ecosystem embarked on purposeful reform journey built around digital transformation.

Under the seventh democratic administration, our apex priority is simple yet monumentally ambitious: to automate and digitalise as many processes as possible at Home Affairs, the Border Management Authority, and the Government Printing Works.

Over the past eight months, we have worked tirelessly to lay the foundation for the reforms required to turn these institutions into digital-first organisations.

However, we have not yet spoken much about the Electoral Commission of South Africa, which is as it should be, given its status as an independent Chapter Nine institution. That is why I am particularly grateful to the leadership of the IEC, who took it upon themselves to arrange this conference to explore the implications and possibilities of digital transformation for our voting system.

This is important because, as much as the IEC is an independent entity, it functions within the broader Home Affairs ecosystem.

Elections in South Africa are dependent upon the ability of other stakeholders in this ecosystem to issue IDs and control the population register. So, given the scale of change we have embarked on at Home Affairs, it is important to reflect on the role of the IEC in this ecosystem, and how it can both mitigate risk but also benefit from the reforms we are undertaking.

Allow me to briefly mention a few of these changes that will have ramifications for the IEC. Firstly, we are moving determinedly to expand access to Smart IDs at a scale never seen before.

We will do so by building on the successful pilot project that has rendered ID and passport services in about 30 bank branches over the past decade. It is now time to scale this to hundreds or even a thousand bank branches, so that all South Africans can obtain Smart IDs much closer to where they live.

This will enable us to eventually discontinue the green bar-coded ID book, which is far more prone to fraud than the Smart ID.

The results of this work should be felt by the IEC by the time of the next local government elections, in 2026 or 2027.

But we won’t stop there.
Secondly, by the time of the next national and provincial elections in 2029, we want to have a fully-functional digital ID system.

As announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address last month, Home Affairs is hard at work to develop the infrastructure required for a secure digital identity platform.

This will enable not only enable South Africans to securely store their IDs and other official documents on a smartphone, but will also provide a verifiable credential for each citizen and permanent resident.

This will enable Home Affairs to virtually certify the identity of every person in the country, based on their unique facial or fingerprint biometrics.

I want to emphasise that this is sequential process: first will come access to Smart IDs for all, then will come digital ID.

The third reform that is particularly relevant to the IEC, are enhancements to the population register.

A new National Identification Registration Bill is on my desk as we speak. This Bill will reform the population register into a modern, digital-first instrument that will record the presence and biometrics of all people who are in our country.

For too long, we have used a National Population Register that failed to adequately record the biometric information of everyone in South Africa.

The failure to have a so-called “single view” of all people in the country is a major contributing factor to the risks associated with illegal immigration, including for our elections, because it enables foreigners to sojourn in the country without their biometrics being detected and stored.

This reform will be coupled with the Electronic Travel Authorisation we aim to begin rolling out this year, which will eventually require every person who enters South Africa to provide their biometrics for capturing in a modern, new population register.

Finally, the work of the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel continues apace. Once that process is concluded, I will table recommendations to Parliament that may result in further reforms aimed at bolstering the accountability of our electoral system.

The implications of these four reforms for the IEC, are obvious. In fact, the reforms now underway at Home Affairs will amount to the most significant intervention since 1994 to bolster South African democracy.

As the custodian of elections, this naturally confronts the IEC with two questions. What are the implications of Home Affairs reforms for elections? And what are the risks and opportunities that this reform window presents to the IEC in terms of the digital transformation of its own processes?

These are the questions I hope this conference will explore over the coming days.

As part of setting the scene for that discussion, allow me to deposit a few thoughts. It goes without saying that IEC systems will need to be updated to interact with new Home Affairs solutions, such as digital ID and the verifiable credential.

It is therefore important that, at a technical level, the IEC participates in the process of developing these new systems to ensure full interoperability.

Additionally, I want to compliment the IEC for the work that has been done to enable online voter registration.

This is exactly the kind of reform we want to see moving forward. But then, at the same time, I also have to use this opportunity to speak as an ordinary voter. During last year’s election, I found it rather perplexing that while online voter registration worked
well, issues with the machines that were supposed to scan voter IDs led many voting stations to revert to pen and paper.

There is a disjuncture between rolling out online voter registration on the one hand, but then using a pen and ruler on voting day on the other hand.

It is important that issues like these are addressed, because ultimately, we need to deliver a more efficient and more secure voting experience.

This brings me to my final input.

One of the points I have emphasised when speaking about digital transformation, is that our goal is not to simply move inefficient processes from paper to digital.

There is frankly no point in digitalising a process if it is going to be just as slow, inefficient and insecure as the manual, paper-based process that preceded it.

Digital transformation requires more than just technology.

It requires a deep re-examination of all existing processes to ensure that the introduction of technology becomes a catalyst that transforms the process itself. There is only one way to do this, and that is by keeping in mind the end-user.

The digital transformation of government is not an end in and of itself. It is a means towards delivering better services, to enhance security, and to ensure that the user of the service walks away satisfied.

In the case of the IEC, this means that the ultimate goal of digital transformation should be to ensure that queues get shorter, not longer, on voting day. That citizens should have higher trust, not less trust, in the integrity of election outcomes.

That security should be stronger, not weaker. And that the efficiency of any electronic system should be better, not worse, than under the existing paper-based system.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Our vision for the total digital transformation of the Home Affairs ecosystem is not principally about technology.

It is about people.

About improving the quality, security and efficiency of our products, as experienced by the people who use our services every day.
Nowhere is this perspective more important, than in the case of elections.

South Africa has a proud track record of conducting elections with integrity, which is a testament to the work of the IEC. 

But declining voter turnout and increasing radicalism, including from those who seek to question the outcome of legitimate elections, are warning signs that we must do more to enhance public trust in democracy.

Ultimately, it must be the goal of reform – digital or otherwise – to deliver a better experience to the end user if we are to protect the credibility and legitimacy of our elections.

It is with this responsibility in mind, that I wish you every success with this path-making conference.

I look forward to the outcome of these proceedings, and to working together with the IEC on its journey of digital transformation.

Thank you.