Minister responds to DA

The DA in Limpopo says the National Department of Home Affairs has committed to consider their request in writing, after the party referred the department’s Bela-Bela branch to them.

DA Limpopo premier candidate Jacques Smalle said the party has written to Home Affairs Minister, Siyabonga Cwele, requesting that he immediately intervene to improve wireless connectivity at the branch.

Smalle said the branch has been offline since 2018, and this has rendered it incapable of rendering vital services.

“Since the branch experienced cable theft, the department has not restored the internet connection to date,” he said.

Prior to the voter registration weekend, he said, many residents were unable to get their new or temporary IDs.

“The Department of Home Affairs provides critical services such as birth, marriage and death certificates, identity documents, and passports. It is totally unacceptable for the department to fail to provide this critical service to our residents for the last four months,” Smalle said.

“The department has committed to consider the DA’s request in writing. We will monitor their intervention to ensure that the connectivity is restored and our residents can access services in
Bela-Bela,” he added.

Acting Director General for the department Thulani Mavuso responded to the DA Shadow Minister of Home Affairs Haniff Hoosen of the DA’s query, acknowledging that it is true that the office is
offline due to cable theft.

— The BEAT