DA top brass take local Home Affairs to task

KAROO NEWS - The DA Shadow Minister of Home Affairs, Angel Khanyile, conducted an oversight visit in Graaff-Reinet on Wednesday 19 April.

This follows a request from DA Member of Parliament and Constituency Leader of the Dr Beyers Naude, Samantha Graham-Maré, to investigate the alleged lack of service delivery by the Home Affairs office in Graaff-Reinet and the mobile units that service surrounding towns.

Graham-Maré already submitted a petition, signed by 500 residents, to the Speaker of Parliament last year.

The petition outlined service delivery issues and requested the department to provide a service plan to the community.

It was emphasised that adherence to this plan is critical to ensure that each town gets regular service. In addition, it was requested that first time identity document recipients, especially high school learners, must receive the necessary support.

Graham-Maré explained that the department is required to visit the surrounding towns that it services and ensure that it provides for the application of identity documents and birth certificates at the very least. "Unfortunately, this is not happening," says Graham-Maré.

"When the Department of Home Affairs does visit these towns, they arrive late, have data and connection problems, falling short of the minimum service level expected. Even the service at their office in Graaff-Reinet is appallingly unreliable, with many people travelling from far afield only to find that the system is down - once again! It costs R500 to travel to Graaff-Reinet and back for people in Willowmore. For the vast majority this is prohibitive, and they are then forced to depend on the irregular and unreliable service from the Department of Home Affairs to process their documents."

From left: DA Shadow Minister of Home Affairs, Angel Khanyile, DA MP Samantha Graham-Maré, and DA Counsellors Joy Williams, Ricardo Smith and Mandy Deyzel.