As I write this letter I don’t know whether to scream in frustration or cry!
Seven years ago I applied for my daughter’s passport and unabridged birth certificate at the Benoni Home Affairs Department. I collected the passport but was told the birth certificate was not ready.
I periodically went back but it was never ready.
This year, in June, I reapplied for her passport (the old one expired) and reapplied for the birth certificate thinking the other application must’ve got lost, but was told it was pending.
When I went back to collect the documents, the passport was ready but, again, not the birth certificate.
I was instructed to complete a notification of late birth, which I dully did.
Finally, in November, after repeated queries, they gave me the customer care line number, which I called on November 12.
I have been calling every second day and the only reply I ever receive is that it’s been escalated and they have sent an email through to Pretoria and are awaiting status feedback.
I finally managed to get hold of a supervisor, Brian Negege, who promised to phone me on Saturday, before 11am –needless to say he never did. I called twice today and he is always unavailable .
But the obligatory emails, it is promised, will be sent to some mystical higher power who never replies.
We wanted to take the kids to Disneyland this Christmas, as a reward for all their hard work; my husband and I both have USA visas so only the children needed to get visas.
Needless to say I cannot make a visa appointment without the original unabridged birth certificate and I would have to pay for an emergency visa which, even if I did, Home Affairs cannot give me any indication if it will be ready this week or even this year.
Needless to say the children are devastated, as are we.
I am so angry and disappointed.
I did my part, I applied well in advance and have followed up regularly, but our family holiday is ruined thanks to the Department of Home Affairs.
