Citizens take advantage of extra hours at home affairs
The majority of the people, more than 25 700, visited on Saturday.
The Department of Home Affairs was pleased with the public response to the extension of its operating hours, as more than 33 500 people visited the department’s offices on the first two days of the voter registration weekend.
The department assisted more than 33 500 people in its offices and 105 mobile units deployed in the first two days of the service delivery blitz during the voter registration weekend.
The majority of the people, more than 25 700, visited on February 3.
Nearly 7 900 people visited during the two additional operating hours from 16:00 to 18:00 on February 2.
The overwhelming public response led to two offices and four mobile units operating beyond 17:00 in the Eastern Cape.
One office in the Western Cape operated beyond the closing time, while there were three offices and two mobile units. They also went beyond closing in Mpumalanga.
In Gauteng, four offices operated beyond 17:00 while one office did in KwaZulu-Natal.
Over the two days, nearly 23 400 people collected their IDs. Another 9 100, mostly first-time applicants, applied for IDs.
More than 920 people applied for and received their temporary identification certificates on the spot.
The Independent Electoral Commission referred 148 people to Home Affairs to update their status on the voters’ roll.
People who collected their passports were also assisted.
First-time applicants are encouraged to collect their documents. Home Affairs takes up to 13 working days to deliver an ID from the day of application. If it has been more than two weeks since you applied, return to collect your ID.
The department has set up dedicated queues for collection in offices that have space to make the collection process faster.
