BY Nkosazana Ngwadla
On 28 September, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Njabulo Nzuza paid the East London Home Affairs branch a surprise visit to assess the level of service delivery. Like many South Africans, he was appalled by not only the poor service but by the way citizens are treated and spoken to.
“We conducted the visit in order to establish if what we had planned in Pretoria boardrooms is what actually transpires on the ground.
“We also wanted to get first-hand experience of what our customers face in each visit so that whatever mistakes we discover, we’re able to find systems to rectify them,” Nzuza tells The Fuse.
Although the office opened on time and customers were able to get most of their needs sorted, what baffled Nzuza is how rudely people were being treated by some of the staff at the home affairs branch.
“Some people were being turned away instead of being helped. Others were just treated in a poor manner. They were handled with no care or dignity, which is completely contrary to what this ministry believes in.
“Those culprits have been identified and will be dealt with accordingly. We will visit all these branches and uproot and deal with anyone who goes against our policies. No citizen will be treated badly, and everyone will be helped accordingly.”
Speaking to The Fuse, one citizen who wished to remain anonymous shared their experience.
“It’s really disheartening sometimes when you desperately need something sorted and don’t get the help you need, instead, you get rejection and spoken to in a very dehumanising manner. I’m really happy that the deputy minister visited the branch and saw for himself. Hopefully, now things will get better. It’s time.”
If you’ve ever had a similar experience at any Home Affairs branch, then this initiative might be the hope for better service delivery.
