Home Affairs slashes system downtime by 61% in ‘major digital turnaround’

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber says digital reforms have reduced system downtime by 61%, improving service delivery and cutting thousands of hours previously lost to technical failures at offices Home Affairsoffices across South Africa recorded a 61% reduction in system downtime during the 2025/26 financial year, with government attributing the improvement to a series of digital reforms aimed at modernising the department’s technology infrastructure and improving service delivery. Home Affairs MinisterLeon Schreiberannounced on Monday that incidents where offices were unable to operate due to “system offline” failures had dropped significantly over the past year, marking what he described as another milestone in the department’s digital transformation programme. According to the department, total working hours lost to system downtime fell from 35,426 hours in the 2024/25 financial year to 13,867 hours in 2025/26.

The improvement follows targeted interventions that included upgrading network infrastructure, modernising front-office applications, replacing outdated equipment and removing single points of failure that previously caused prolonged service disruptions. The gains were recorded across all nine provinces, with the Free State registering the largest improvement at 79%, followed by Mpumalanga at 68%. Gauteng recorded a 66% reduction in downtime, while the Western Cape improved by 65%.

Even the North West, which recorded the smallest gain, achieved a 41% reduction. “The remarkable 61% reduction in working hours lost to system downtime represents the latest milestone on our digital transformation journey,” Schreiber said. “Our reforms have ignited a virtuous cycle where we are not only expanding access to Home Affairs services at an unprecedented pace, with over 408 bank branches rolling out digital Smart ID services over the past five months, but simultaneously improving the quality of service offered at Home Affairs offices.” The minister said the department’s reforms were beginning to change public perceptions of Home Affairs by making services more accessible and reliable.

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“While our work is not yet complete, South Africans who access services at one of these 408 new bank branches or at departmental offices already have a vastly better experience compared to the failures previously associated with Home Affairs,” Schreiber said. “The dramatic improvements delivered in just 24 months serve as motivation for us to further enhance access and service delivery through digital transformation to ensure we deliver dignity for all.”

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