MIL Africa Engine

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber says South Africa is accelerating efforts to build a digital-first department, with expanded access to identity services, a growing electronic travel authorisation system and further reforms planned for the country’s immigration regime.

Speaking at the Xpatweb Annual Global Mobility Conference on Tuesday, Schreiber said the department was moving beyond plans for reform and was now focused on implementation, positioning Home Affairs as an economic enabler that could support investment, tourism, critical skills and economic growth.

The Minister said the department’s latest milestone was the expansion of its Trusted Employer Scheme, which has been broadened to include major infrastructure projects, companies establishing headquarters in South Africa and the financial services sector.

The scheme is also being streamlined through reduced red tape and greater digitalisation.

Companies interested in participating have until 4 September to apply.

Schreiber said the broader reform programme, known as Home Affairs @ home, was aimed at using technology to decentralise access to government services and reduce the need for people to visit Home Affairs offices.

A key part of the programme has been a partnership with the banking sector, which has enabled South Africans to apply for Smart ID Cards at participating bank branches without paperwork or appointments.

According to Schreiber, 422 119 applications had been processed through the partnership in just over four months.

The number of locations where citizens can obtain replacement Smart IDs has increased from 214 Home Affairs offices to 541 sites, with more than 750 bank branches expected to offer services by the end of the year.

The Minister said the expansion had been achieved without additional staff, budget or cost to taxpayers.

By the end of the year, passports and first-time Smart ID applications for adults and minors are also expected to become available at participating bank branches.

Schreiber said citizens would additionally have the option of having their IDs and passports delivered by courier to their homes before the end of 2026.

The Minister said the expansion of Smart ID services would also pave the way for the eventual discontinuation of the green identity document, which he said would help combat fraud and identity theft.

Another major pillar of the department’s reforms is the development of a voluntary Digital ID system. Schreiber said South Africans would eventually be able to access secure digital versions of Home Affairs documents on their mobile devices, while retaining the option of using physical identity documents.

The digital transformation is also being extended to immigration.

Schreiber described the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) as the department’s flagship immigration reform, saying it was designed not merely to digitise existing processes but to replace the country’s outdated visa operating model with a modern platform using machine learning, biometric verification and automated risk analysis.

The ETA, initially piloted for travellers from China, India, Indonesia and Mexico, has already processed more than 203 000 applications, according to the Minister.

More than 5 700 fraudulent applications were rejected after the system detected fraudulent passports, manipulated documents and other indicators of fraud.

Schreiber said the system would be expanded to additional countries and visa categories, with study visas among the categories expected to be added by the end of the year.

The department has also activated an extension module that will allow qualifying visitors already in South Africa, including visa-exempt travellers, to apply digitally for an additional 90 days.

Schreiber said the long-term goal was to turn the ETA into a comprehensive digital immigration platform covering a broader range of immigration services.

He also pointed to Cabinet’s adoption of the Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection as an important policy milestone.

Government intended to introduce legislation giving effect to the revised policy framework in Parliament at the beginning of the next financial year. – SAnews.gov.za
 

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has transferred the management of seven state plantations to beneficiary communities in the Nqadu area, with a further four plantations set to be transferred during the financial year.

To build communities’ capacity to manage plantations, the department is facilitating partnerships between beneficiary communities and strategic forestry companies, which will provide investment, technical expertise, skills transfer and access to markets.

“We anticipate concluding these partnerships before the end of this financial year. One of the government’s priorities is to ensure that communities become meaningful participants in the forestry economy. 

“However, the transfer of plantations alone is not enough. Communities must also receive the technical, financial and business support required to operate commercially viable forestry enterprises,” Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Bernice Swarts said at the Nqadu Great Place in the Eastern Cape.

The Deputy Minister said the Eastern Cape remains one of South Africa’s priority provinces for forestry expansion, with more than 100 000 hectares identified as having afforestation potential.

Swarts stressed that the potential is subject to technical assessments, market availability, and strategic partnerships. 

“Working together with the Kingdom, we have an opportunity to identify suitable land within the Nqadu area and bring it into production, subject to the necessary assessments. 

“Such investment has the potential to create employment during plantation establishment and, over time, support downstream industries such as timber processing, furniture manufacturing and biomass energy,” she said.

Swarts was speaking during the nature-based carbon dioxide removal and rural development initiatives event, where she announced that the DFFE will donate 2 000 indigenous and fruit trees to the Nqadu Kingdom as part of government’s efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Of these, 750 indigenous trees were delivered on Tuesday, while the remaining 1 250 fruit trees will be delivered by 15 August 2026.

Swarts said President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed the department to implement the National Greening Programme, which aims to plant one billion trees within five years.

The Presidential One Billion Trees Programme seeks to mobilise South Africans from all walks of life — including government, the private sector, business, interfaith formations, the diplomatic corps, traditional leaders, NGOs, youth formations and communities — to plant trees.

“In the 2025/26 financial year, the DFFE, working with stakeholders including Traditional Authorities, managed to plant 1 303 930 trees in one day – on 24 September 2025.

“Following this achievement, the department will be facilitating and coordinating the planting of 10 million trees across the country on 24 September 2026 as part of the broader goal of achieving the One Billion Trees target,” the Deputy Minister said.

According to Swarts, the department has already implemented six successful community projects across the Eastern Cape under the Global Environment Facility.

These projects have restored degraded land, promoted indigenous tree planting, strengthened agroforestry and improved food security, while creating temporary employment and building skills in rural communities.

The Deputy Minister urged the Nqadu Kingdom to work with government to introduce the E-Waste Programme to collect and recycle electronic waste.

“Electronic waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams globally, but it is also one of the greatest opportunities for creating green jobs. Through our national E-Waste Programme, more than 108 tonnes of electronic waste have been collected, and approximately R400 000 has been received by communities as incentives.

“We believe that similar programmes can be introduced within the Nqadu Kingdom. Working together, we can establish community-based e-waste collection and recycling enterprises that create employment, particularly for young people and women, while protecting the environment,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za

By Michael Currin
South Africa’s investment story is increasingly moving beyond pledges and conference commitments. It is taking shape on factory floors, industrial parks and manufacturing hubs, where production lines are being modernised, facilities expanded, workers retained and upskilled, and businesses positioned for long-term growth and global competitiveness.

Investor confidence is increasingly being reinforced by evidence that commitments are translating into implementation. This demonstrates that South Africa’s investment story is becoming more compelling because it is grounded in delivery, not promises. Because of its extensive infrastructure, industrial capacity, skilled labour force, advantageous location, policy backing, and access to both African and international markets, South Africa continues to be a desirable place for investment.

South Africa’s automotive industry provides a powerful example of how investment commitments are translating into real economic activity. Toyota South Africa Motors’ R10.4 billion investment in the production of the ninth-generation Hilux at its Prospecton plant in eThekwini is a strong vote of confidence in the country’s economic potential. The investment will support the modernisation and expansion of manufacturing capabilities, strengthen local production capacity, retain jobs, enhance skills development and reinforce South Africa’s position as a competitive vehicle manufacturing and export hub.

The significance of this investment is reflected in the broader contribution of the automotive sector to the economy. The sector contributes around 5% of South Africa’s gross domestic product and supports more than 115 000 direct manufacturing jobs, making it a key driver of industrial development, economic growth and export earnings.

The value of this investment extends well beyond new machinery or production capacity. Every manufacturing investment creates opportunities for workers, strengthens supplier networks, supports young people entering the workforce and bolsters small businesses connected to manufacturing value chains. In this way, the benefits ripple throughout the economy, reinforcing manufacturing value chains and enhancing the country’s competitiveness.

Chery’s decision to acquire Nissan’s former Rosslyn manufacturing facility in Gauteng reinforces this point. The company has committed to retaining 692 employees, while the project is expected to create nearly 3 000 direct and indirect opportunities across manufacturing, logistics, supply chains and related services. Its vision of transforming Rosslyn into an African manufacturing, export, research and development, supply chain and skills hub shows that investors see South Africa not only as a market, but as a platform for regional growth.

A crucial part of the success of South Africa’s automotive sector rests on two of government’s long-term industrial policy interventions. Firstly, the Automotive Production and Development Programme (APDP) has helped position South Africa as a globally competitive automotive manufacturing hub. Through this programme, the country has attracted leading international manufacturers, including Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, BMW and Volkswagen, while strengthening the domestic automotive value chain and creating an enabling environment for sustained investment, production growth and job creation.

Secondly, South Africa’s network of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) has become a key pillar of the country’s industrialisation, investment attraction and regional economic development strategy. SEZs are designated geographic areas where government provides targeted support, including serviced industrial land, infrastructure, regulatory assistance and other incentives, to attract businesses and encourage production. By creating an enabling environment for companies to establish and expand operations, SEZs help channel investment into strategic locations, stimulate local economies, create jobs, develop supplier networks and promote inclusive industrial growth.

South Africa’s designated SEZs are already showing measurable progress. They host 224 companies with a combined investment of about R31.7 billion and have supported more than 28 000 direct jobs. These figures matter because they show that the SEZ model is moving beyond policy design into operational impact. Investment is becoming visible in buildings, production activity, logistics networks, exports and livelihoods.

The Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone is an excellent illustration of what can happen when infrastructure, policy, and anchor investors come together. The zone provides enormous efficiencies by bringing together automobile manufacturers, component suppliers, logistics businesses, and skills institutes in a single ecosystem, lowering manufacturing costs, increasing competitiveness, and strengthening local supply chains.

This is why SEZs remain at the centre of South Africa’s investment and industrialisation strategy. They are essential to attracting foreign and domestic investment, accelerating industrial growth, promoting beneficiation, strengthening exports and bringing micro, small and medium enterprises into industrial value chains. At a time when South Africa must grow its economy more rapidly while ensuring that growth is more inclusive. SEZs provide a practical bridge between investment and inclusive development.

South Africa remains committed to strengthening the conditions that ensure investors choose our country. That means reliable infrastructure, efficient logistics, faster approvals, policy certainty, competitive incentives, skills development and stronger partnerships between government, business and labour. Investment attraction cannot be treated as an event; it must become a continuous delivery system.

The opportunity is to now convert the country’s investor confidence into long-term competitiveness. Sustained manufacturing-led growth creates demand for suppliers, raises the need for technical skills, supports logistics services and gives young South Africans a route into advanced industries. 

The investments by Toyota and Chery and the continued expansion of SEZs all point to a country that can manufacture at scale, expand its export base, innovate with confidence and create jobs. The task ahead is to build on this momentum by ensuring that every investment strengthens the country’s productive capacity and lays the foundation for faster, more inclusive and more resilient economic growth.

*Currin is Deputy Director-General at the Government Communication and Information System.