Abstract:
The provision of consular services is an obligation of every government to its citizens
who are living abroad. In providing such services, efforts must be made to ensure that
they are accessible to all citizens, wherever they may be. In the current economic
climate, maintaining an extensive network of embassies and consulates around the
world is an expensive venture. It is against this background that governments must be
innovative in providing services by ensuring that private and third sector organisations
are involved, in order to complement their work of guaranteeing that consular services
reach their citizens at affordable costs–wherever they are in the world.
This article makes a vital contribution to the concept of using partnership and
outsourcing as tools for increased access to consular services in one of the critical
missions of South Africa (SA) abroad–the United Kingdom (UK), by showing that
the traditional way of rendering consular services from a diplomatic mission is
inadequate to reach potential customers scattered throughout the host country. The
research makes use of a mixed methods approach and concludes with significant
recommendations that, inter alia, include even using post offices and the internet
to ensure that consular services reach all parts of the UK where South Africans
reside. Given that consular services have inherent security implications, the article
also notes that, amongst factors that must be taken into account before outsourcing
consular services, or even setting up a partnership, the chosen service providers
must be able to maintain and protect the confidentiality of their customers.
