MP Sam: 'Get your affairs in order'

GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - Samantha Graham-Maré, DA MP, Shadow Minister of Electricity, as well as Dr Beyers Naudé Constituency Leader, presented a petition on 13 June to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs about the dire straits of service levels at the local department of home affairs.

The latest petition follows an oversight visit conducted by the DA Shadow Minister of Home Affairs, Angel Khanyile, to the office in Graaff-Reinet on Wednesday 19 April.

Second petition

This is the second petition submitted by Graham-Maré in this regard. The first petition was submitted to the Speaker of Parliament last year when Graham-Maré requested the department to provide a service plan to residents of surrounding towns and ensure that the plan is adhered to.

"As a result of the pressure, we now have a list of mobile visits to outlying towns," says Graham-Maré. The visit to Jansenville was scheduled for Wednesday 21 June and the visit to Klipplaat is today, 22 June.

The department confirmed that the Graaff-Reinet office services surrounding towns and that the schedule is made available. People are notified via WhatsApp, municipal offices, councillors, community development workers, principals and health facilities.

Payment options

But there are more problems. In the petition of 13 June, the DA questions the department's use of the point of sale (POS) payment system and wanted to know how the office handles clients who do not have bank cards.

The department says the office has a hybrid payment system for both cash and card payments but prefers the use of the POS system for safety reasons. Graham-Maré argues that it is not a hybrid payment system.

"I once waited two hours to help an elderly man from Aberdeen who had hiked through for the third time and was going to be sent away again because he only had cash. I stayed and paid with my card."

Interruptions

System downtime is also a concern. "People from surrounding towns spend up to R500 to come to Graaff-Reinet only to he turned away because the system is down." "It is an absolute disgrace," says Graham-Maré.

The department explained that system interruptions due to load-shedding and cable theft have an impact. When the office experiences downtime, the matter is reported immediately.

Faulty generator

In response to their inability to work during load-shedding due to a faulty generator, the department said load-shedding makes the generator break more often.

The generator is not functional at present, but it is owned by the landlord and not by the department. According to the department the landlord has been given a deadline to have the generator fixed, failing which the department will install their own generator.

DA Councillors - Ricardo Smith and Garry Wiehahn, Angel Khanyile (DA Shadow Minister of Home Affairs), DA Councillors - Mandy Deyzel and Joy Williams, and Samantha Graham-Mare (DA MP and Dr Beyers Naude Constituency Leader).