After years of complaints from the public, Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba, has directed his department to prepare a comprehensive strategy on how long lines at home affairs offices across the country can best be managed.

In a statement released this week, Gigaba said that he had been flooded with calls from members of the public regarding the how long clients spend at home affairs offices across South Africa. According to Gigaba, a comprehensive report and effective strategy on how to deal with this matter swiftly is a high priority as the department remains committed to delivering high quality services to citizens and other clients.

The Minister further appealed to the public to exercise patience as a the matter is receiving undivided attention. Gigaba also added that that the department had made major strides in improving service delivery, and is resolved on optimising the limited resources at its disposal, to ensure that the public is humanely served, as well as professionally and efficiently.

One of the methods that may be considered to reduce the waiting time of the public at hime affairs offices is to reintroduce opening offices on Saturdays.

This method was previously implemented, but mooted at a later stage after a number of trade unions complained that workers were not being paid for their overtime services. Although a settlement was reached between trade unions and the Department of Home Affairs last year, offices still remain closed on Saturday “until further notice”, as stated on the official site of the department.

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Lucinda is a hard news writer who occasionally dabbles in lifestyle writing, and recent journalism graduate. She is a proud intersectional feminist, and is passionate about actively creating a world which is free of discrimination and inequality.