Home Affairs suspends some services to public
Operating hours have been extended to 7pm to accommodate people who need to register deaths and births up to 15 February
ONLY matric pupils will be assisted with applications for Smart Identity Documents (ID) at the Department of Home Affairs offices during Covid lockdown Level 3.
This is part of the department’s measures to reduce the numbers at Home Affairs offices and minimise the spread of Covi-19 infections.
ALSO READ: Hilltop Camp reopens at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park
Marriage services and applications for passports, except for people allowed to travel according to the amended Disaster Management Act Regulations, have also been temporarily suspended.
‘For collection of IDs, do not come to Home Affairs unless you are specifically invited via an SMS. We have also decided to change some of the modalities in which Home Affairs services are provided.
‘We propose that all births and deaths be registered at the health facilities where they occur. These are the 156 health facilities with Home Affairs office presence,’ said Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, at a media briefing last week.
In the Zululand region, births and deaths registration services are available at Nkonjeni, Queen Nandi Regional, Ceza, Nkandla, KaMagwaza, Hlabisa and St Benedictine hospitals.
‘Mobile units will assist where offices are either closed or where there is a need for collection or death registration.
All offices have identified designated counters for death registrations,’ Motsoaledi said.
Operating hours have also been extended to 7pm to accommodate people who need to register deaths and births up to 15 February.
‘We are doing so to enable funeral parlours and families to bury their loved ones within the requisite period for Covid-19 deaths,’ he said.
Covid-19 impact on Home Affairs officials
Dr Motsoaledi said in the first 10 days of this year, seven front office employees lost their lives to the pandemic.
‘Out of 412 offices, 266 had to close at some point since the beginning of the lockdown in March 2020 because of staff members testing positive for Covid-19. Some offices closed more than once,’ Motsoaledi said.
The closures also affected the Home Affairs office in Richards Bay. The local office closed in June last year and in December as a result of positive Covid-19 cases.
‘Each time a staff member tests positive for Covid-19, the people they got into contact with, including clients, either go into self-isolation or are tested and the office is closed for decontamination,’ he said.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.
For news straight to your phone invite us:
WhatsApp – 060 784 2695
Instagram – zululand_observer
