Home Affairs hell run
There might be hope as the Department of Home Affairs fix their system
BARELY at the threshold of adulthood, Nothile Nothando Yengwa (18), has faced hard knocks and now has to live the sad reality of seeing her dreams vanish before her eyes.
The young woman from eSikhaleni is one of many citizens who have been ‘let down’ by the Department of Home Affairs.
She has apparently applied for a South African Identity Document (ID) more than six times, but the department has reportedly failed to deliver.
The devastated teenager says she has lost hope, and her goal of studying towards a Transport and Logistic Management degree is slowly becoming a steep mountain to climb.
‘Six tertiary institutions have turned me down because I don’t have an ID. I can’t get a job or even open a bank account.
‘Every time I go to the Richards Bay Home Affairs office, I am told my details were deleted in the system.
‘I always have to go through the process over and over again. This can’t be normal,’ she said.
‘This keeps me awake at night, especially when I think of my former classmates who are perusing their dreams and studying while I’m stuck with no documentation.
‘January is around the corner and I will have to apply for higher education again. I can’t take the disappointment anymore,’ she said.
Her grandfather, Thuthuka Yengwa (65), told the Zululand Observer, the ordeal has deeply scarred his granddaughter.
‘She is missing out on many opportunities,’ he said.
Home Affairs response
After the Zululand Observer contacted the Department of Home Affairs in uThungulu District last week, the young girl was asked to reapply for the seventh time this week.
According to uThungulu District Manager Sikhosiphi Dlamini, the problem was with their head office in Pretoria.
‘Something was wrong with their IT department and the system which deleted some of the information, but it has been sorted out now,’ he said.
‘We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and we will ensure that citizens get good service and receive their documents in time,’
Dlamini said the process will take a few weeks for applicants to get their ID smart cards, but for first time applicants it will take a month.
‘Because we don’t take finger prints for first timers, that’s why the process takes longer,’ he said.
The young Yengwa and other applicants will have to wait patiently until next year.
