Let’s face it, nothing is more frustrating than enduring those long queues at Home Affairs, and we’ve all had to bear the brunt of waiting in line for what seems like forever.
The Department of Home Affairs has announced a new appointment system after presenting it to parliament on Tuesday 31 August, in a bid to cut down on excessive queuing.
According to BusinessTech, the system is integrated with the national population register to allow clients to use their ID number to book a slot on an app. South Africans will also be expected to enter their user details and schedule appointments.
This includes having the option to book an appointment at a specific Home Affairs office in each province, as well as an expected start and end time.
On the Parliament website, Chairperson of the committee, Mr Mosa Chabane said: “We welcome the deployment of this system and are hopeful it will be a significant intervention in saving our people from standing in long queues and sometimes over successive days. We also welcome the innovation of linking the system to the National Population Register to insulate the system against illegal agents.”
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance, welcomed the announcement and said that they had been calling on the Department to introduce such a system, believing that it will address the long queues and protect people from losing a day of work.
It will also protect members of communities from potential corruption, the DA adds, mentioning that they have received complaints where people are forced to pay R100 per time slot at some Home Affairs offices or to skip the queue.
“The DA has been advised that the new appointment system will be available in all South African languages and can be accessed virtually. Walk-ins will still be accommodated.
“This is certainly a step in the right direction of addressing the frustration people have with the Department of Home Affairs and the DA will monitor the implementation of the appointment system closely,” the political party adds.
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