Western Cape Premier ‘taking up’ delays at Home Affairs with GNU leaders

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has pledged to take up the battle against delays at home affairs after multiple complaints from residents and government officials.

Winde recently conducted a series of unannounced visits to public facilities in the Klein Karoo and Cape Winelands districts.

During a drop-in at social development offices in Ladysmith and Robertson, officials shared their frustration at delays in issuing identification documents to young children who need support from the state.

A later visit to the Home Affairs Office in Robertson was met with more complaints of delays.

Winde said he would be tackling the scourge.

“This is something that I will be taking up with my colleagues in social development and the Government of National Unity.

“We must make sure that our residents have access to critical identification documentation so that we can provide them with the services that they need,” he said.

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Home Affairs committee calls for reforms to Tshwane refugee centre

This follows a site visit by the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs to the Tshwane Refugee Reception Centre last week.

The committee urged the Department of Home Affairs to tackle significant capacity challenges at the centre, after the tragic death of an individual due to a stampede at the facility in August.

The committee also raised concerns about inadequate staffing levels.

“We understand the budgetary pressure faced by all government departments, especially as it relates to compensation of employees. But it will be important to increase the current staff to enable the centre to process the substantial application it receives,” said the committee chairperson, Mosa Chabane.

Corruption threatens the immigration integrity.

The committee also highlighted corruption issues that threaten to undermine the integrity of immigration processes.

It urged the department’s anti-corruption unit to intensify its efforts against syndicates compromising the country’s immigration laws.

“Corruption and fraud subvert our country’s laws and undermine the good work done by many officials within the department.

“The fraudulent obtaining of documents feeds into the negative perception against all foreign nationals, even those that obtained them legally,” Chabane said.

ALSO READ: Home Affairs committee calls for reforms and additional staff at Tshwane refugee centre as applications pile up

Concerns about spaza shops

Winde also stopped by the Oudtshoorn Police Station to see “first-hand how services are delivered”.

There the station’s newly appointed commander Brigadier Avral Kriga raised the need for “better regulation of spaza shops and liquor outlets”

Kriga said this could be achieved by having “closer working relationships with the Western Cape Liquor Authority”.

Other concerns raised, included:

• working with other law enforcement agencies like provincial traffic services and the local hospital to speed up the processing of blood sampling for drunk driving arrests;
• increasing the number of accredited neighbourhood watch groups; and
• Improving intelligence-gathering.

Kriga said he would ensure that citizens do not have to wait long for police and that patrols are constant and effective.

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