Mobile units have been deployed to the area, and provisions have been made at neighbouring home affairs offices.
Home Affairs clients needing to access services in Germiston will be redirected to neighbouring offices.
Alternatively, mobile units and a temporary car park office will be able to assist distressed customers.
The measures are in place after the second floor of the home affairs office in Germiston was gutted this week by a fire allegedly started by protestors.
Germiston fire
The department had good news for home affairs clients who applied and have been waiting for their documentation.
Provincial home affairs regional manager Mamokubung Moroke said on Tuesday that the documents on the lower floor of the double-story building avoided serious damage.
Moroke said the documents would be salvaged and sent to neighbouring offices in Alberton and Boksburg.
“This is a huge loss in terms of property and equipment, but documents are safe because they were securely locked on the ground floor, which did not catch fire,” Moroke said outside the building.
Mobile units
Home Affairs has deployed a mobile unit to the site and redirected clients to neighbouring offices in Alberton and Boksburg.
Provisions have been made to accommodate passports and smart ID card applications in the car park of the Germiston Civic Centre.
Home Affairs customers needing reprints of certificates can access this service at any Home Affairs office in the province.
Alleged arson
Home Affairs Deputy Minister Njabulo Nzuza visited the site on Wednesday, where he described the protests as “barbaric”.
Early investigations suggest the protestors allegedly threw a petrol bomb through the upper-level window.
Nzuza said the department will deploy additional mobile offices should the demand require.
Meanwhile, two suspects arrested in connection with the alleged arson incident were due in the Germiston Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
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