Nokwanda Dlangamandla | kzn@radioislam.org.za
1 min read | 11:00 AM (CAT)

Photo Credit: In Africa & Beyond

Thousands of South Africans prepare for the holidays by making travel plans or visiting family abroad.

In August, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi announced that his office would eliminate several “luxuries” granted to South Africans to bolster passport security. The security review is now being conducted on the passport application procedures.

Home Affairs has introduced numerous methods for citizens to apply for or to renew their passports, including online applications or applications made via bank institutions.

However, recently there have been concerns regarding travellers experiencing challenges when applying for or renewing their passports.

Siya Qoza, the spokesperson for Home Affairs, spoke with Radio Islam International on the procedures involved in renewing a passport.

On booking the appointment, Qoza clarified that individuals should be assisted at the appointed time. He also recommended arriving early; however, he advised that should the service be found lacking, citizens should contact the Home Affairs Head Office with the relevant details to ensure that the system was working as designed.

Ml. Sulaimaan Ravat tackled him on the issue of expired passports that appeared as being active or not released correctly in the system, posing a challenge to obtain a new one. Qoza said that this was not a common problem, but it did occur. He further explained the reason behind the issue. He advised that the local office would have to inform the Head Office to resolve this, or people could visit the office where the passport was initially issued for assistance.

He also mentioned that he had raised the issue and hoped for a quick resolution.

Qoza said if one wasn’t satisfied with the service, it was best to speak to the local office manager, who would then get in touch with Head Office to allow for a quick and efficient resolution.

Ml. Ravat then asked how the escalation process would work if the office manager were not easily accessible or if staff were not assisting correctly. Qoza reiterated that the office manager was always the first line of call. Still, if there was no satisfactory response, the contact details for provincial and senior managers were within the precinct of the local office to allow easy access for citizens to a quicker resolution.

Taking the issue further, he was questioned on the quality control mechanisms in place. Many have complained that several grievances were brought to light that reflected that these were being flaunted or did not exist.

He countered, saying that there was always someone in the person who should be able to assist as, in some cases, office managers had to sometimes move to other offices to help with different functions.

On the downtime issue, he said that the minister had implemented interventions to ensure that services at the office were disrupted less. Regarding load shedding, he said that generators allowed service to continue; however, external telecom issues, like depleting cell tower batteries, posed another challenge.

Cable theft was another difficulty experienced as these curtailed services, and in many cases, the disruption affected most of the processes.

Asked about issuing emergency passports, Qoza said that international standards required all information to be read machine-readable, which meant that no handwritten documents were processed in South Africa. He added that the time to acquire a passport was quicker now, about 5-7 days, except during peak holiday periods, but it could be faster in less busy periods.

He further mentioned that processes for passports and smart identity cards were halted when internet services were disrupted.

Listen to the interview with Siya Qoza, the spokesperson for Home Affairs, hosted by Ml. Sulaimaan Ravat on Sabahul Muslim.

Home Affairs Head Office contact a call centre at 0800 60 11 90 or email: hacc@dha.gov.za.