Park Rynie ‘Sick affairs’ leaves those in need of IDs, passports hanging
Staff shortages due to illness have caused confusion at the home affairs office.
MAIL staff headed to the Park Rynie Home Affairs offices last Wednesday after being tipped off abut an apparent ‘strike’.
Numerous employees had failed to arrive for work, allegedly feigning illness.
One source who spoke to the Mail on the condition of anonymity said that this had been a problem for quite some time and often both Home Affairs staff and security personnel staying off work, claiming to be ill.
However, apparently no medical certificates proving they had actually been sick were ever produced.
Home Affairs Park Rynie manager, Riana de Bruin, confirmed that there was a shortage of staff as several employees had booked off sick. This meant several people applying for new ID documents and passports had to be turned away.
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Security guards also seemed to be missing in action. None of the staff present knew why security officers hadn’t pitched up and their supervisor said that she couldn’t comment, even if she knew what was going on.
The lack of security staff force one of the skeleton Home Affairs staff have to leave her desk in order to assign people to queues.
Some people had to be directed to queue outside the building as a result of growing confusion. This is generally not an issue when security staff are present to direct people to the correct sections.
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The office manager confirmed thatthe security contracts had expired for all Home Affairs offices.
“The renewals or new contracts are in the process of being finalised and, due to being a national department, the renewal cannot be done locally,” said Mrs de Bruin.
She added that many people from Durban made us e of the Park Rynie office, which sometimes caused overcrowding and longer queues.
“It is sometimes necessary to turn people away due to the large influx of clients at all offices. However, we do try and ensure that everyone is served to the best of our ability.”
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