POLOKWANE – Residents can soon look forward to more effective service at the department of home affairs, with less time spent in queues, according to home affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni.
Opening and closing hours to assist people will be from 08:00 to 16:00, but office hours will be extended from 07:30 to 16:30, including a 30 minute lunch break, and will come into working from Monday March 23 countrywide.
Apleni said the decision on new opening and closing hours followed an extensive consultative process with organised labour as well as the relevant internal and external stakeholders.
It was decided that two shifts would be required to ensure the successful implementation of the new office hours. The first shift will commence at 07:30 and end at 16:00 while the second shift will commence at 09:00 and end at 16:30. Both shifts will include a 30-minute lunch break.
Apleni said the new opening and closing hours would benefit the department’s clients, managers, staff members and the organisation as a whole.
“The new opening and closing hours will afford managers and personnel sufficient time to interact with each other on service delivery matters and front office operations,” he said.
“The new opening and closing hours will undoubtedly be of benefit to clients and departmental staff. Our clients will spend less time in queues. These changes are a part of the department’s broader drive to improve the quality of service to clients.
“We are well aware that our environment is remarkably different from many others in government and there’s no one size fits all, hence this solution for the enhancement of our service delivery obligations,” he said.
