Frustration brews over IDs in Pinetown

PINETOWN residents have been struggling to get their new electronic and temporary IDs ahead of the national election on Wednesday 7 May from the Pinetown Home Affairs, as they have been offline for several days.

Ronie Perumal, the office manager, reported that the Pinetown Home Affairs had been offline since 9am on Saturday 3 May, but were “back online” on Monday at approximately 12pm.

“It was a network problem and has been resolved. I believe that other buildings in the area have experienced similar problems,” said Perumal.

Anthony Campbell (29) lost his original ID and applied for a renewal of his ID on 13 March. He reported that he had gone to the Pinetown Home Affairs to collect his ID on Friday 2 May, but was told that the computer systems were down. He returned on the Monday only to told that he would not be able to collect his ID, as the system was still offline.

“I had taken the day off to collect my ID today. If I am not able to collect it today I wont be able to vote on Wednesday. I specifically applied for the new ID so that I could vote,” said Campbell.

Colleen Honey (69) tried to apply for a new ID on Friday 4 April, after she also lost her original green ID book, but were told that they were offline. She returned the following Monday, but despite completing the application is still waiting for her ID. She followed up on the process two weeks later, but was told that it was a lengthy process and would be informed via SMS once her ID had arrived at the Pinetown Home Affairs. She returned again on Monday 5 May, after receiving no updates and was told once again that they are offline.

“They told me that it was only suppose to take a week to complete my electronic ID. It is frustrating, as I may not be able to vote on Wednesday,” said Honey.

Rick Crouch, the councillor for Ward 10, who received complaints from residents in the area, said, “It is unacceptable that some people are going to be disenfranchised on their right to vote, because a computer system was offline.”

Tim Brauteseth, councillor for Ward 18, urged all residents who do not yet have their IDs to go and collect them as soon as possible. “Every vote is important and it is important for residents to make their voices heard, despite the difficulties that they might encounter,” said Brauteseth.

Tersia Hanekom, the regional manager of Home Affairs, was unavailable for comment.