South Africans have shared some heartbreaking experiences regarding service – or lack thereof – at Home Affairs.
The Department of Home Affairs has been marred by various hurdles, issues and complaints for years. Some South Africans have taken to social media to express their frustrations over their experiences.
SOUTH AFRICANS’ HEARTBREAKING EXPERIENCES AT HOME AFFAIRS
From not being able to receive much-needed SASSA grants to missing lifetime opportunities and some adversely affected emotionally. These are some of the experiences with Home Affairs South Africans have shared on X.
@Sandraboyce19: “Disabled family member waiting since 17 December 2024. No message to collect his ID. He can’t replace his social grant card @OfficialSASSA because he doesn’t have smart ID, he has the book ID and not allowed to use at SASSA. Your contact centre no one answers please help.”
@wazinme007: “Dignity???? Seriously, a legitimate family member became suicidal [because] of you departments failure and incompetence to respond and do things timeously.”
@ZikhonaTshona: “Heke minister, I’ve been chasing the department since 2021 for a late registration of birth for a learner who already started school late because of this…still no luck.”
@NicholasFr45945: “2 years I’m waiting for my kids birth certificate, now I’m missing my chance to go to USA! Because without that we cannot get a passport!”
@LesediB_: “My mother has 3 kids according to your system, we filled in paperwork stating that we don’t know the other two children as I am her only child. We checked this morning and they removed ME instead of these two other people we don’t know of.”
@NhlanhlaBu69970: “I am trying to help boy who has missed out on getting matric qualification because he has no ID. The mother from Swaziland is dead, but his South African father is alive, somehow, that is not good enough for Home Affairs. Another criminal loading.”
HOME AFFAIRS MAKING STRIDES
Despite the challenges the Department of Home Affairs has faced over the years here, it has been making strides.
The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, has been heading the department for just seven months and it seems there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Schreiber usually shares success stories and progress in his department on social media.
In a post shared on X on 27 January 2025, Minister Schreiber thanked Siphokazi for her contribution in their effort to provide quality service.
“Siphokazi shows how #TeamHomeAffairs can deliver dignity for all!
“We are certainly not all the way there yet, but messages like this demonstrate how we are making meaningful progress every day on building the proud culture of service we all want,” Schreiber said.
The minister also shared data on his X account on 4 February 2025. The post revealed that there has been an uptake in the number of South Africans who have smart IDs.
“A picture worth a thousand words!,” he captioned the graph.
In terms of the data showed on the graph, more South Africans have taken smart IDs over the past two quarters. It shows that the department has consistently been exceeding their target.
DO YOU ALSO HAVE ANY HEARTBREAKING EXPERIENCES TO SHARE?
Let us know by leaving a comment below or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1.
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