IF ONE needs any evidence that systems in South Africa are collapsing, if indeed they have not already, one has to visit any Department of Home Affairs to experience heightened frustration, a sense of hopelessness and sheer despair.
The administrative inefficiency expresses contempt for the Batho Pele principles. The Covid-19 pandemic merely provides another “justifiable” excuse for their tardiness.
The department is responsible for a number of legal requirements such as birth and death certificates, ID documents, passports, marriage registration, documents essential to conduct ordinary functions, sometimes of an urgent nature.
The government has no respect for the dignity and rights of its citizens as the department does not function in the context of service to the public. It adopts the view that the citizens should be grateful that an official is attending to their requests.
Families with children, the elderly, pregnant women, disabled persons, many from rural areas, have to “camp” outside the office and the property from as early as 5am only to be told at closing time that they cannot be attended to and must come another day. This is at great costs to the public, not only in transport, but also absence from work.
An average of 40 people are attended to for the day and there is no communication between the officials and the public, only to be told at closing time that no more people will be attended to.
People travel from afar, stand out in the open irrespective of the weather, there are no toilet facilities or kiosks for refreshments. They virtually have to carry a full camping equipment kit to survive the “ordeal” of fulfilling government requirements.
Furthermore, the online site of the department is non-existent. There is no shortage of reasons for problems related to the site. The problems at Home Affairs have been endemic for over 20 years.
Occasionally ministers make a “tour” of the department as a public relations exercise and assure that measures are put in place to address poor performance. Old habits and attitudes persist and when memory fades, the status quo prevails. There is no proper monitoring of the quality of the services.
Black people in the apartheid era were by law second or third class people and endured the poor services. Is this government the mirror image of the overthrown government? Does it respect the equality of it citizens? Does it respect the dignity of the people, especially the poor? Or does it depend on the goodwill and support of the (poor) people for the luxurious lifestyle of the politicians? Is it sincere in providing a first class service to its people? Or are we another failed black state that defiled democracy?
DS RAJAH, Musgrave
The views expressed are not necessarily those of Independent Media.