My trip to Home Affairs -
An unforgiving journey : Reinhardt Biermann
News24 – 20-04-2022
Citizens often have to take off
several days to sort out their documentation at Home Affairs.
London-based
lawyer Reinhardt Biermann details his journey of first trying to sort
out his passport in the UK before it expired in May, before coming to South
Africa, where the process wasn't much better.
As is the
case for many South Africans, as well as foreigners, I recently had to apply
for documentation at the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).
My
journey, which is the only word to describe this experience, started in January
2022, when I tried to make an appointment with the High Commission in London to
renew my passport.
I am
currently working in London, and was perhaps a bit overzealous when I thought
that my passport, which is expiring in May of this year, could be renewed
timeously. Friends also told me I would just need to bite the bullet and be
patient over the coming months.
Nothing,
however, prepared me for the 'customer experience' that the DHA has created for
South Africans.
Journey
kicks off
The
current process in the UK requires South African citizens to first make an
online booking with the High Commission and DHA, and only once an appointment
date has been allocated can you submit your application in person and complete
the requisite biometric tests.
For several
weeks, no email response was forthcoming from the High Commission. If one does
follow up via email, you are shut down with a standard response which refers to
'volume commitments'. The person who responds does not add their name, which is
a clever way to ensure you never know who you are speaking to and avoid
accountability or continuity.
Nearly
two months after applying, I still had not received an appointment date. I made
several calls to the High Commission without any progress. The DHA, which is
the responsible office, didn't even answer their phone.
I then
sent emails to several different people at DHA, Dirco and the consulate, asking
how I could lay a formal complaint about the service I was receiving. No
response or clarification was forthcoming, but I eventually received an
appointment date for two weeks later in London.
This
appointment date, together with an (alleged) four- to eight-month waiting
period for my passport, meant that I would receive the document far beyond the
expiry date. I would, in effect, therefore have no valid country documentation
while being abroad. I also pointed out all of these details in an email, but I
guess I should take responsibility for waiting so long to apply.
Let's
make a road trip
I then
decided to rather apply in South Africa at the DHA office in Paarl, Western
Cape, while visiting family. I recognise that not everyone is able to make such
travel arrangements, and in fact, the majority of South Africans are dependent
on their local DHA offices for assistance.
The
current waiting period at the banks, which were added to streamline the process
for smart ID cards and passports, exceeds two months and some are also starting
to cease such services completely. This was therefore not an option.
In Paarl,
I packed some water and food (forgetting sunscreen), expecting I might wait a
short while to enter the building and submit my application.
I
eventually stood outside the office for the entire day without making any
progress and being burnt in the sun. I had to return the next day (with a
preferential ticket), as home affairs employees indicated that they were not
being paid overtime and would stop providing services around 16:15. It is not
clear what the exact office hours are at the department, but it seems that it
is not 08:00 to 17:00.
I then
had to take time off again on a separate day to collect the passport. During
this time only five people were helped with collections over a period of just
under two hours.
I was
fortunate to only spend only a couple of excruciating days in the DHA queues,
but this can take weeks or longer for many.
What kind
of journey was it
Without
going into the extreme depths of DHA boringness, the worst of the experience
was the fact that young mothers with children and the elderly are obliged to
stand outside of the building in Paarl the boiling hot sun for hours on end,
with no seating, shading or toilet facilities. Several people sit on the tar
road waiting for their chance to enter the office. As winter approaches, the
same situation applies, even if it is rainy or windy.
A further
issue adding to the discomfort is that no effort is made by the DHA to inform
those queuing of the expected waiting times and how many people can be attended
to in a day. On this basis, people are forced to take annual leave to go the DHA
offices. In some instances this might mean putting in three days leave to
first wait outside the building, come back the next day (if they could not
submit their application) and collect their document on another day.
My simple
question therefore, to the DHA, the Director-General, and the various Deputy
Directors-General, whom I understand are responsible for an annual budget from
the fiscus, and charge extra money for each application filed at the DHA
offices, is how is this acceptable in this day and age? Why has the whole
experience at the DHA been normalised across the entire South Africa and even
abroad?
I accept
that officials at the High Commission in London were not particularly
interested in assisting me (I am not responsible for resourcing at DHA and will
therefore not conjure up excuses on their behalf), but this has reached a new
low point in public service administration. As an example, it is a well-known
fact that the Paarl Home Affairs office has serious queues daily and a lack of
infrastructure for more than 10 years. The building has remained the same size
since 2010. No effort has been made to create better facilities such as
toilets, shading or seating and no reasonable indication is given of how long
the process is likely to take.
The
people that work at the office are helpful, but the entire system is mired with
problems at each and every corner - meaning the current personnel are
overworked, overburdened and forced to do more than expected of them.
At the
DHA office, I picked up that very few people in the queue are actually from
Paarl, with some driving from other locations as the Paarl office is considered
a better DHA office than others in the Western Cape area. I understand that the
Worcester office recently didn't have cables for internet access, which makes
one wonder what else is missing.
Why
should anyone have to drive to Grabouw, Malmesbury or Paarl, when having a
passport or ID document is a basic civilian document, which is the most basic
of responsibility of the government?
The
incredibly quick way to fix this
There is
no doubt in my mind that a first year engineering student, or other technocrats
within civil society, would be able to fix the inefficient system that the DHA
is currently deploying. It is not clear if the DHA has ever reached out to the
public/private sector for any assistance or advice.
The
rollout of the eHome Affairs channel has unfortunately just not translated into
any quicker way to deal with DHA and the long queues demonstrate the
mismatch.
If we are
serious about public service in South Africa, we will make sure that, at the
very least, each and every person that arrives at a DHA office knows: (i) how
to complete and submit an application; (ii) which exact documents and
supporting evidence is necessary; and (iii) the waiting times that apply on
that day and (once we have sorted out those issues) be given a time slot to
attend. We can already achieve this by helping people to complete the necessary
documents before entering (specifically those that do not have access to the
internet), and providing basic education.
For
example, in the case of IT issues, which is a regular occurrence at the DHA,
virtually every town in South Africa has experienced IT professionals that
could be drawn from to assist (or get to know the actual processes of the
DHA).
In
addition to systematic changes, the question does arise: What is the budget of
DHA being spent on and why are there separate application fees? This becomes
significantly more relevant if one thinks of the increasing population and
migrant community, which necessitates far beyond a 10-year plan to address
resourcing and infrastructure issues.
From a
resourcing perspective, I understand that there have been determinations made
regarding the size of DHA offices and how many employees should (ideally) be
placed to ensure the requirements of an area can be served. Based on recent
parliamentary responses, in Stellenbosch, for example, the size of the
municipality means that there should be 40 officials assisting, while at
present there is only six in attendance.
On this basis,
it is not clear why the DHA is not appointing more staff, even on an ad hoc
basis to assist the overworked staff. If there are budget limitations, I have
not seen any indication by the DHA that they require the help of interns or
students. Covid-19 can no longer be an excuse for the current resourcing issues
experienced at the DHA offices.
The
journey continues
In
summary, my journey has been an easy one, when compared to those experiences of
poor South Africans who struggle just to get to the DHA offices.
It is
however concerning that every South African (just ask your neighbour) is
supposed to be content with the status quo and that the DHA's service is so
pathetic, that one feels privileged to even enter their office buildings.
This
normalisation of the process is ludicrous and it is time that South Africans
become more vocal with their complaints and suggestions. No one should be made
to feel like this.
For me,
the only way to solve this, is for the DHA to swallow its pride, work with
ordinarily civilians and try to find common solutions for the administrative
problems each and every civilian is currently experiencing.
- Reinhardt
Biermann is a South African lawyer, working in London.
www.samigration.com
