Frustration mounts as residents queue for hours at Home Affairs
Queues and an apparent lack of services at the Department of Home Affairs has prompted BONUS to follow up on recent complaints from readers.
POLOKWANE – BONUS found endless queues at the offices at Library Gardens, with people voicing their frustration.
At the time, one resident said it had taken him three days to apply for his son’s Identity Document.
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“I usually wake up early in the morning just to get a good spot in the queue. I am from Moletjie so I spend money on taxis to get to the office and then to work in Seshego so that is another expense on its own. In the past three days I have to take unplanned leave days as I was not able to return to work in time nor get assistance for what I had come for, I really hope that things change because the services here are poor,” he lamented the series of problems associated with applying for just one document.
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According to a representative, school holidays are usually a busier than usual time.
“We open our offices at around 07:30 every day and we close at 15:30. We do not chase anyone home even when we have closed. Those who are still in the building, are assisted,” said Valdah Mathabatha, Home Affairs Limpopo Office manager.
She said it was therefore highly impossible that a person visited the branch on three consecutive days to apply for an ID. “Some people come to apply for Smart IDs, some for passports, some to collect documents, and they are all assisted accordingly. It is during school holidays that we have long queues because the number of clients increases. On average we would expect about 112 clients for the Smart IDs daily target. Considering we only have four machines in our office which produce about 28 Smart IDs, taking this aspect into consideration we have met more than our set target and we have been doing so for the past two weeks, our stats have increased,” Mathabatha explained.
“The staff really work hard even on weekends, to ensure that clients are happy. All we request is cooperation from the community,” she concluded.
One client suggested the office extends work hours and increase staff to improve productivity.
Anyone wishing to lodge a complaint regarding services can contact Valdah Mathabatha at 079 885 8081. Alternatively, send an e-mail to valdah.mathabatha@dha.gov.za.
