So we have this system >> camera. >> That's right. >> The same level as my face. >> Yeah, it's at the same level. >> We can show we can show you around. I just need the protect to ask the media to move to when the president goes. >> That's all right. >> No, it's fine. >> So then it it takes the picture >> preopulates the information. [clears throat] So it doesn't give me as the immigration officer >> any right to manipulate. >> No discretion. >> No discretion. It's approved. What he does is collect the verify passport is the matches contains the data that is already indicator make through the future. >> No, no. Yeah, just to comment on this. I think >> this entire movement here can be reimagined. >> Hang on. Hang on. Can I Can I check something? >> Can I just send the The president is going to go in one of the He will go inside. >> Here we are. >> President you also signed in. >> There's going to be client coming here that must be captured. So you can't you can go on the other side. >> Sorry. You must go on the other side. >> We can process. >> Afternoon. How are you? You can move a little bit. Taking a picture here. >> Okay. Now it says I must place a passport on the scanner. >> This traveler is from China. >> Yes, it's a Chinese. >> I'm placing a passport on a scanner. >> So pre now. >> Okay. So they're comparing >> I am done here whatever that the information that I is is here on the on the on the ETA. >> So what I need to do I must check whether this information and this one >> is the same the same >> but they can also have that on their phone wallet. Is that correct? They don't have to print it. Dear Mr. President, you can see on this side this is the visa on the phone. It's not even printed out. >> ETA information, visa information. >> So, normally the ETA this one is going to expire from the 2026 12 to the 2028. But normally when they when they enter we give them 90 days each and every >> so here in the passenger is >> so normally we don't endorse the steps we don't we don't put the steps on on the passport automatically the system will send the the the email on on this >> yes which confirms that he enter on this date and will stay until the 10th of November 2026. >> Okay, we are done. >> Thank you, sir. [laughter] >> Very quick. >> Very quick. Very convenient. >> Very good. Very good. Very good. >> Are you happy? >> Yes. It's your >> 100% satisfied. >> Your name sir? >> This is Frodo. I'm representing green air conditioner and we have been cooling South Africa for many years and this ETA is very convenient for all all of us and give us very convenient visit to South Africa. >> It's very good success. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Can I ask? >> Yeah. Most of the media media. Please rush through the take your position >> media. Can you follow Terrence? Let's go to where the speeches will greet members of the media. Members of the media, please return. Now it's a press. It's a press conference now. >> Yes. It's not footing. It's not God. Hey. Hey. Happy birthday. Now take a recently process South African citizens and foreign travelers who use the ETA into the country without any delays. Additionally, the ETA provides us with a capability to detect overstayers in real time. When a person traveling on the ETA leaves the country country, their face is again verified at the departure counter. If someone's face has not been recorded as exiting in time, they will receive direct communication from home affairs warning them that we know about them and that they are at risk of overstaying and prosecution. If that warning is not heeded, the security features of the ETA enable immigration enforcement steps to be taken. Importantly, ladies and gentlemen, none of this is hypothetical. All of these features are live in this airport and others as we speak after we initially piloted the ETA during South Africa's historic G20 presidency for travelers from China, India, Indonesia, and Mexico. Since that small-scale pilot began, the ETA has already processed 216,24 applications. A few weeks ago, I came across a post on LinkedIn from one of these early adopters, an Indian entrepreneur who had recently visited South Africa for the very first time. He wrote on LinkedIn, and I quote, "Some journeys give you memories, others give you hope. My South Africa experience began with a delightful surprise. I applied for an ETA and received a one-year multiple entry visa in just 8 minutes. He went on to say that the ETA immigration counter at Cape Town International Airport took him less than 2 minutes to clear, describing it as quote, "Perhaps the smoothest travel experience I have ever had." End quote. The vastly enhanced security features of the ETA are just as important. However, 6,126 fraudulent applications have already been identified and rejected, including cases where people tried their luck with fraudulent passports, manipulated documents, and other indicators of fraud. That is the future of immigration in South Africa. A system that is modern and uncompromising when it comes to security, but welcoming and efficient when it comes to the travelers and investors that we must attract to generate growth and jobs. That is why the final component we built before today's launch, this one is especially for minister Dil, is the capability for legitimate travelers who enter South Africa for up to 90 days to apply through the ETA to extend their stay by a further 90 days as stipulated by the immigration act. This feature alone is likely to significantly boost tourism revenues as it enables lawful travelers to extend their stay without the hassle and bureaucracy of the past. During the next phase of work, the ETA will progressively become compulsory for short stay visits from countries that require port of entry visas to South Africa. At the same same time, we will also make it accessible on a voluntary basis to visa exempt travelers who choose to use the ETA for faster cues upon arrival or who want to easily extend by that additional up to 90 days. Over the coming weeks, we will inform the embassies of countries as they are systematically added into the ETA. The system will initially be available for travelers who arrive here at Oat Tambbo International Airport as well as Cape Town, King Shaka, and Lanceria. With our airports now fully equipped, we turn our attention to land and sea ports over the coming months to roll out facial recognition and EMCS 2.0 at all ports of entry. But, Mr. President, we are also not stopping there. The ETA is not designed to just be a digital visa for tourists or for short visits. Our aim is to turn it into the single entry point and the central platform for an endtoend digital immigration system where all visa categories are processed through biometric and machine learning technology. This means that over the coming few months, we must expand the platform to also process more complex visa categories, including things like study visas, spousal visas, and work visas. By the time this work is complete, ladies and gentlemen, South Africa will have one of the most sophisticated, efficient, and secure digital visa and entry exit systems anywhere in the world. Of that, there is no doubt. Mr. President, the ETA is the embodiment of our commitment to the vision of turning South Africa into a world leader in smart and secure migration management and digital government. On behalf of the entire home ecosystem, it is my distinct honor to welcome you as our keynote speaker to officially launch South Africa's electronic travel authorization. Thank you. [applause] Abusum Simang who has been helping with all this and all other officials here present would like to thank you for being present on this very cold day that has had Minister a little shivering uh throughout this uh uh whole demonstration. It's a real joy and a pleasure to have this opportunity. Earlier we witnessed how as we tested the electronic travel authorization system, how It was demonstrated when a passenger uh arrives and I just saw the joy and the pleasure on the face of the first passenger that we tested. It was truly truly truly good because you know every nation is known as the minister was saying that we're going to have the most electronic the most modern system in the world because every nation is known by the way it welcomes its visitors to its country and that become becomes something that stays in one's memory because the first impression that a visitor forms of a country is often not at a hotel, not at a conference center or not even at a game reserve. It is when they arrive. It begins at the border gate as they enter the country. It it begins with whether the country projects itself as a welcoming country, whether it is efficient, whether it has security, but more importantly, how it treats the people who come to visit. In today's world, countries compete not only through the strength of their economies or the quality of their infrastructure. They compete through the ease with which people can visit the country. How people can come visit the country and invest. How they can come and trade and study and do business. This is how people remember countries that are friendly, that are welcoming. Today, we are taking another important step in ensuring that South Africa competes with the best in the world. And we gather here at O Tambbo International, our country's busiest gateway to launch South Africa's electronic travel authorization system. This is far more than the introduction of a new digital platform. It is actually a statement about the kind of country that we are building. It is about making South Africa more open to opportunity, more welcoming to legitimate travelers, more secure for our citizens and more competitive in the global economy. With this type of system, we positioning ourselves as being amongst the best in the world. It is fitting that we launch this initiative at an airport that bears the name of Oliver Regginal Tambbo. For many years, O Artamo was the one South African who even though he was not welcome to be in his own country, he was the one person who traveled the world to rally support for the struggle against aparate. He carried South Africa's hopes across continents. But he also carried South Africa's message to the world. He took South Africa to the world today through this new system that we are strengthening the way in which the world comes to South Africa. His statue stands right there at this airport, welcoming visitors from every corner of the world. And today we honor that legacy, the O Tambbo legacy. That South Africa's welcome is not only warm but also modern, it is also efficient and it is amongst the best in the world. Today we are exploding into an era of being amongst the best in the world in the way that we receive visitors to our country. And many of you will know that as you travel to various other countries, the difficulties, the struggles, the anxiety that people have as you arrive at airports in other countries. And sometimes people even become afraid to go and visit certain countries because you fear how you're going to be received. And today we are modernizing the way that we are going to receive visitors. The electronic travel authorization system will make travel to South Africa a lot easier. It'll also make it faster and more predictable. I tested this with one of the travelers who we saw how quickly he was processed. It literally took just less than one minute and the traveler was beaming with laughter, with joy, with a broad smile because he had a sense that he had been received in a very respectful manner, in a very efficient manner to the country and this system will encourage tourism. Minister Dil will be the happiest minister in the cabinet today. Much as Minister Shriber uh thinks that he's the happiest, it is Minister Dil who is the happiest, who's beaming with joy because this is going to encourage tourists to come to South Africa and it will also support trade. It will attract investment because people who invest money want to know whether they are welcome as they travel to destinations where they want to go and invest their money. It will facilitate skills and knowledge exchange and at the same time it will strengthen the integrity of our borders and improve our ability to manage migration effectively. This reform reflects a simple but important truth. In the global economy, accessibility matters. investors compare countries, they will compare how we compare with another country. And I always tell my colleagues on the cabinet that as we do anything, let's see how other countries operate. I always say let's find out how other children play and see whether we are measuring up or whether we are better or worse. It is important that we do so because that's what investors do. That's what travelers do. They want to see how best we stack up with others. Tourists do compare countries. Conference organizers also compare countries when they organize conferences which is conferences are a big tourist attraction element or process rather. They compare how South Africa measures to other countries and students also compare countries. Highly skilled professionals also com compare how other countries treat them. Every unnecessary delay, every cumbersome administrative process and every avoidable obstacle encourage people to look somewhere else. People become very impatient. They always want ease of doing things. They want simplicity and they want modernity. Now our visas reform is therefore not simply an immigration reform. It is an economic reform. It is a reform that speaks to jobs. Yesterdays SA released the greatest uh the latest rather quarterly labor force survey. The figures remind us that unemployment, especially among young people, remains the greatest challenge that is facing our nation. Every reform we undertake must ultimately answer one question and that question is, will it help to create work? Will it expand opportunities for South Africans? The ETA answers that question with a resounding yes. More visitors mean more hotel bookings. More restaurants are then filled. More tour operators start their own businesses and they also able to employ others. It also means more flights. It also means more conferences, more exports, more investments, more opportunities for South Africans to earn an income and to build a better future. So what we are doing today here is not only about immigration, it is about the ease of doing business, enabling investments to come into our country. This initiative forms part of our broader program of the structural reforms that we have undertaken under operation vulintel. When operation vula was established in 2020 during the co era we recognized that South Africa's low growth was not the result of one single problem. It was the result of the various constraints that had accumulated over many years. These constraints affected electricity. They affected telecommunications. They affected water infrastructure. They also affected the ease of just doing business in our country. And they affected our immigration system as well. And the immigration system was so araic, so cumbersome, so difficult to maneuver and it was not welcoming. And even business people kept telling us that we want to come to your country to invest, but your immigration system keeps us away. It does not allow our managers, our people, our experts to come into the country. Our response has therefore been quite comprehensive. We decided that we should introduce reforms in a number of areas that I have alluded to and these are areas that were preventing the economic growth that we wanted to see. We have reformed our electricity market and unlocked unprecedented private investment in generation of electricity. Well over 100 billion rand has now been invested in our country as a result of the reforms that we have introduced and that has also lessened the burden on ESCOM because now there are other generators and ESCOM focuses on stabilizing its own generation plants on enabling them to work better and efficiently. ly without being subjected to continuous breakdowns that resulted in load shedding. We have modernized the telecommunication sector that has enabled us to communicate a lot easier with 5G and so forth and data centers are now being established in our country because we were able to modernize our telecom system and a number of businesses are now operating just on that whole process of improved telecommunications. We are reforming our freight and rail and port system, enabling imports and exports of our goods to be a lot easier. We are strengthening water infrastructure. We're now focusing on the key problems that affect our people. And that has inspired quite a lot of hope and confidence in the minds and the hearts of our people that we are addressing problems that affect them at a social level. But water is also an industrial enabler. It enables companies and industries to function. And now we are also modernizing the way people enter South Africa. We're also focusing on our local government. Now, these are not isolated reforms. Together, they are removing barriers to growth, to investment, and to job creation. They are making South Africa a more competitive economy. A competitive economy that yes, will compare with other countries. More importantly, these reforms are demonstrating that meaningful reform is possible when government works with purpose, with urgency, and with partnership. The ETA system is also a central pillar of the Department of Home Affairs's ambition or ambitious home affairs at home vision. It represents a decisive shift towards what I would call a fully digital department that provides secure, efficient, accessible and worldclass public services and home affairs is the one department that through its work faces literally faces the 62 million South Africans who live in our country and also those who come into our country. The 10 million visitors who Minister Dil said came to South Africa last year also go through a home affairs uh processing. Around the world, citizens increasingly judge governments by the quality of the services that they provide. People expect services that are digital because people have become digitally conscious themselves. They expect speed. They expect transparency. They expect reliability. That is the direction in which our country is now moving in. And the display of the ETA system begins to tell the story that we are embracing digitization. And through this system, eligible travelers will be able to apply online, as the minister was saying, from anywhere in the world without needing to visit a South African mission or visa processing center. Applications will be processed more quickly. Decisions will be predictable. The experience of traveling to South Africa will be significantly improved. Many people want to come to South Africa. You know the president of China was telling me that many Chinese want to come and tour South Africa. They want to come and visit here. See the beauty of our country. Come and see our beaches, our game parks and our cities and all that. But they are prevented by a very difficult and cumbersome visa system where in some cases they had to travel from various parts of China just to go to either Beijing or Shanghai to have their visas approved and they would wait for weeks and sometimes months. Now this answers that question. Now this is a great advance on where we were before and in many ways this system was initially introduced when we hosted the G20 and Minister Shriber was saying to me this is a legacy of the G20 the very successful G20 that we held this has spawned this system that we now have because during the G20 we were able to process thousands and thousands of people who came to South Africa to attend the G20 over a 12 month period to attend a variety of meetings. Now this is what it has yielded. we were able to make sure that people who came from specific countries such as China, India and uh Indonesia were well processed. We are now preparing to expand this system to additional countries and we will over time digital processing will extend beyond visitor authorizations to include work visas to include study visas and other immigration services. This marks the beginning of a much broader transformation and we will make travel easier and we will also recognize the legitimate concerns of South Africans regarding border security, illegal immigration and compliance with our laws. Let me therefore be absolutely clear. A modern immigration system is not a weaker immigration system. It is a smarter immigration system. Technology allows us to know more about travelers before they arrive rather than after they are here. It will enable us to have stronger biometric verification. And as the minister was telling me today with this system, the im the migration process is no longer dependent so much on a passport. It is now dependent on your face. with a pretty face like mine, I'll be able to have greater access. Even if you don't have a pretty face like mine, you will still be able to have easier ways of access. So, it strengthens identity management. It improves risk assessment and it h it enhances border security. some of the challenges that we have he had which many South Africans have articulated with people just thronging into our country. This system as it will be rolled out throughout the country to our border post will now be able to manage and stop that. It helps us identify those who seek also to abuse our immigration system while making lawful travel faster and a lot easier. The ETA therefore strengthens both economic openness as well as national security. This is fully aligned with our government's comprehensive approach to migration management. So through this we are strengthening enforcement of immigration as well as labor laws. We are improving border management. We are modernizing legislation and policy. We are deepening cooperation with countries across our region and continent. And through the revised white paper on citizenship, immigration and refugee protection, we are building a migration system that serves both our developmental objectives and our national security interests. So the success of this initiative depends on partnership. It requires the Department of Home Affairs, the Border Management Authority, the South African Revenue Service, the Department of Tourism, the South African Police Service, the Aviation Industry, our diplomatic missions that is Dero, technology partners and the private sector to work together as one. Our borders are not merely points of entry. They are strategic national assets. They are where security, trade, tourism, logistics and economic development all come together and they demand that government functions as one integrated system. And this is where we break down the silo system of operating. We now unite all government disciplines and processes. Now today's launch is therefore about much more than technology. It is evidence that South Africa is capable of reform. We are capable of modernizing processes. Too often there is a perception that governments cannot change. They are too slow. They are too bureaucratic and they are inefficient. And today we demonstrate that we can change. We can reform. We can move faster. We can be technologydriven and we can modernize. It shows that when government sets clear goals, embraces innovation, strengthens accountability, and works in partnership with business and society, meaningful change is possible. That should give confidence to every South African that our program of reform is beginning to de to deliver real and measurable process uh progress. And I therefore wish to commend the Department of Home Affairs, the officials, the minister, the deputy minister, director general and the leadership and staff of the department of home affairs, the border management authority and all participating government departments of the government and also our technology partners who are here and every stakeholder who has contributed to bringing this important reform. perform to life. So I thank you and I commend you for all the work and the hours that you have put in. You have demonstrated what can be achieved through dedication, through innovation and through collaboration. So ladies and gentlemen, today's launch is much more than just about visas. It is about how we can enable our country to move forward. It is about building a South Africa that welcomes the world with confidence. Welcome. Welcome the world efficiently and welcomes the world knowing that our security and our sovereignty is intact. A South Africa that attracts investment. A South Africa that embraces innovation and a South Africa that protects its borders while opening its doors to lawful travelers to our country. And it is a South Africa whose public institutions are demonstrating that they can be efficient, they can be modern and they can be responsive. Now this is the country that we are building. working together to build a country that shows elements of great efficiency and success. That we are a country that understands that economic growth requires both openness and security. That South Africa is determined to compete with the best in the world. and even go beyond competing. Show the rest of the world what we are capable of so that they can come and learn from us. Above all that we are a country that is committed to creating jobs, expanding opportunity and improving the lives of its own people. So let this launch of the ETA be remembered not simply as the introduction of a new digital system but as another important milestone in our country's journey towards becoming a more modern and capable and competitive states. So it is therefore my honor and privilege to officially launch South Africa's electronic travel authorization. So I thank you [applause] [cheering] Your excellency Once more, thank you very much, Mr. President. The the good thing about the ETA, it's our homegrown solution. It's been the young people at SARS, Ori and others, supported by Carl, supported by Marius, Barry, Leon, Elise, Michelle, Chunis, David. These are young people and elderly people uh that have really been at the forefront of this homegrown uh technology. So thank you very much for the keynote address Mr. President and thank you very much minister for the uh remarks and as the minister has indicated for countries that will be on boarded it will be good that you continue to check both the DHA website the BMA website and of course the department of tourism website uh Minister D. So it is now my singular honor to then invite the deputy minister of home affairs DM Jagabulona to deliver the vote of thanks now. Thank you very much uh program director his excellency president Ramaposa the minister of home affairs Dr. Leon Shriber the minister of tourism was here with us today the ding the BMA commissioner Dr. the commissioners from the South African Revenue Services. We really appreciate your presence here today. The members of the portfolio committee of home affairs. I saw the whip of the portfolio committee Malbo and I also saw the member of the portfolio committee honorable Ross uh leaders from various government institutions distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen I must say Mr. president that what we have achieved uh today is about recognizing that in a modern and global connected economy our borders must protect our country whilst also enabling legitimate movement of people. They must be able to be secured but they must also be efficient. They must manage risk without creating unnecessary barriers for those who come to South Africa to invest, to do business, to study, to visit family and to experience our beautiful country. I have been given a very simple task here today to do a vote of thanks and I'm going to do exactly that. So allow me my Mr. President to firstly pass my thanks and congratulations to Dr. Talon Striper for his stellar leadership in driving our digital transformation agenda in the department. Minister Dil, we really appreciate you. We we know that you are the one who's going to be marketing uh the platforms that we are building so that they attract more people and more people use this particular platforms because if people do not use the platforms then they are not useful. Also allow me to thank the technical teams under the leadership of the DJing as well as the BMA commissioner. They have really done a stellar work in production of this technology and indeed it is South African uh produced technology. We like to thank veteran Mavuso uh the chair of the immigration board. We really appreciate you. Uh you will remember Mr. president that where we are today it started uh with the operation vuling team h and I must confess today at some point I will get irritated when they will call us to long meetings in the office where they will tell us do this do this fix this don't fix this we really appreciate you and I think we must give him a round of applause for the work that they've really uh done the government institutions that have really partners parters partnered with us in working on this the South African revenue services and other departments that have really been a cornerstone in producing this. This is part of display of what government that works together can achieve. We are aware that we are building towards a digital ID that will unlock quite a number of things and that are doing working together with the South African revenue services. Mr. President, allow me to conclude by saying that may the success of the ETA be measured not only because of the technological advancement it brings, but [snorts] by opportunities it creates, by the number of investors who find a home here in South Africa, business partnerships that are formed, and the jobs and economic activity that follows. I thank you. Thank you very much. Uh DM at uh at this point um I'll also like to take this opportunity to thank you Mr. President, ministers, DM, commissioner of the BMA and the entire team, senior management from SARS, senior management from AXA and of course our other uh partners. Let me take this opportunity, Mr. President, Minister, to thank the program director for ensuring that we conclude uh this uh program on time. There are really two announcements. the the first one will all rise for the president and the minister to leave and then of course uh the other dignitaries will then proceed to the media center for lunch. You can follow and dele from our communications team. So let's all rise and thank you very much. You made the way.