The Department of Home Affairs welcomed nearly 12 000 people in its 268 offices and 103 mobile units that offered services on the first of the two-day service delivery blitz during the Voter Registration Weekend.
“We are extremely pleased by the turnout of people [on Saturday]. Just under half of these people were first-time applicants who came to either collect or apply for their IDs. This means that they are ready to play their part in strengthening our democracy by registering to vote,” said Home Affairs Deputy Minister Njabulo Nzuza on Sunday.
Nzuza said the department will continue to encourage the 135 000 first-time applicants, who haven’t collected their IDs, to collect them.
“The department has dedicated collection service counters and introduced the Branch Appointment Booking System (BABS) to make it convenient for people to collect their IDs,” said Nzuza.
Home Affairs offices are offering ID collections, ID applications, issuance of temporary identification certificates, rectifications and clearing of referrals from the Electoral Commission (IEC). People who came to collect their passports were also assisted.
The offices were scheduled to close at 17:00 but some in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal only closed at 18:00 after assisting everyone who came.
More than 3 350 people visited offices in KwaZulu-Natal. Another 1 950 people went to offices in the Western Cape. Gauteng assisted 1 704 people.
More than 660 people applied for and received their Temporary Identification Certificates on the spot. Most of them were in Gauteng, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape.
Most of the 103 mobile offices were deployed in the Eastern Cape (15), while Limpopo and the Western Cape have 13 each.
Some of these offices were deployed in densely populated areas that do not have offices that can process smart ID cards, in areas like Mabopane and Temba in Gauteng and Chartsworth and Bhamshela in KwaZulu-Natal.
“We are determined to ensure that we afford everybody who wants to collect or apply for their IDs an opportunity to do so as conveniently for them as possible,” said Nzuza. – SAnews.gov.za
