News Articles

Home Affairs put citizens’ info at risk

Source: Daily News, 20/11/2018


This was according to a financial crimes investigator following
damning affidavits which alleged that the Department of Home Affairs
risked the country’s population register by housing it on an open URL
from June 2005 to November 2009 because of its “failures” in
installing key infrastructure.
The affidavits were deposed by Hannes Smith and Moeketsi Nonyana in a
liquidation case involving Double Ring Trading, the company which
alleges the department owes it R794 million â€` including interest â€` in
unpaid bills that have accrued since 2009.
Both Smith and Nonyana managed the department’s project to install an
information and communications technology (ICT) hub at its premises
in Tshwane.
Last month, former Home Affairs minister Malusi Gigaba was subpoenaed
to appear before a court-appointed presiding officer to explain why
the department let a R67m bill balloon to R794m.
The legal wrangle is ongoing, despite Gigaba’s resignation from the
department.
Double Ring Trading was tasked by Home Affairs from 2005 to, among
other things, supply and install the ICT hub in Tshwane.
According to the affidavits, failures to install a fibre optic link
between the department and the State Information Technology Agency
(Sita) â€` which the affidavits said was Home Affairs’ responsibility
for the hub to be operational â€` necessitated the use of signal
distributor Sentech’s frequency in order for the department’s mobile
units to be operational.
In his affidavit, Smith said Home Affairs “was at all times cognisant
of the risk inherent to the population register by placing (it) on an
open URL”, as both Smith and Nonyana had “repeatedly” discussed this
with the department.


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