“What frustrates me most is that these people came to us, begging us to apply for these IDs that we don’t even need”
- The Department of Home Affairs office in Komani, Eastern Cape, has been overwhelmed with hundreds of people collecting their smart ID cards.
- This follows roadshows by the department in towns, including Cofimvaba, Cala and Cacadu (formerly known as Lady Frere), to migrate citizens from the traditional green books to the smart ID cards.
- We spoke to dozens of, mostly elderly people, who had been turned away on Wednesday at the Komani office because it was too full and inundated with card collections.
A technical fault with the Department of Home Affairs’ mobile unit forced scores of people, mostly elderly, to travel from different towns and villages into Komani, Eastern Cape to collect their new smart identity (ID) cards. But when many of them arrived on Wednesday and Friday at the Komani office, they were turned away.
This follows roadshows by the department in towns including Cofimvaba, Cala and Cacadu to migrate citizens from the traditional green books to the smart ID cards which were first introduced just over a decade ago.
When GroundUp arrived at the Komani Home Affairs office just after 9am on Wednesday, there were already about 200 people inside waiting to be assisted. Those still waiting outside told this reporter that an official had just announced that they had to return another day because it was too full inside. They explained that Home Affairs officials visited their villages in the mobile truck last year and helped them fill out forms to get the new ID card. The truck, however, was not able to issue cards so everyone from the surrounding towns has been travelling into Komani.
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Nosandise May, 72, said she spent R190 of her pension on transport to and from Cacadu. She left home before 6am to catch two taxis from the village. By the time she arrived at 9am, the Home Affairs office was already full of people. “I had hoped that I would get my ID but we were turned away at the door.”
“What frustrates me most is that these people came to us, begging us to apply for these IDs that we don’t even need. We are too old to be changing IDs. I only rely on grant money. Coming here is very expensive. Now I will have to wait for another pay day to come again and there’s no guarantee that I will be assisted if it’s going to be full again,” said May.
A guard told them that in order to be assisted they must arrive at least at 6am. May said if she wants to arrive earlier than 9am, she will have to hire a private car which could cost up to R1,500.
On Friday Lusindiso Dondolo said he was returning for a second time. “At least I come from a village near Komani. [On Thursday] there were people from Cofimvaba, who spent more than R300 and were still turned away,” he said. By the time we left at 11am, Dondolo, who had arrived at the office before 8am, was still waiting to be assisted.
Home Affairs regional manager in Komani Mzoli Yawa told GroundUp that the long queues were due to the mobile trucks not being able to issue smart cards. “But that has now since been fixed.”
He said from this week, people can arrange to collect their IDs from branches closer to where they live.
