Allegations of bribes being paid to Tongaat Home Affairs employees for “queue jumps” and quick collection of identity documents has left residents and customers feeling enraged at being forced to pay for services twice, at the government department offices.
Residents stated that after receiving appointment dates they were still asked for bribe money to be placed up front for their documentation to be sorted out which was not welcomed, leaving them to stand outside the doors for more than six hours in the scorching sun. Speaking to the Tongaat and Verulam Tabloid, La Lucia resident, Mrs Govender, said she was appalled by the treatment she, as well as other residents, received at Tongaat Home Affairs.
She said: “I was given an appointed date for 9 February to make my daughters identity document (ID) as she was getting ready to start her Grade 12 examinations. We went to the Home Affair office at 7am for the appointment. When we got there we were told to pay a bribe to get inside the offices and I refused as we had an appointment. At 1.30pm they told us that they were offline and was unable to make the ID so we had to leave. We called the manager for assistance and didn’t receive any joy from him as he said Grade 12 learners don’t get any privileges even if they are wearing school uniform. Eventually because we were in need of the ID we went back to the offices so we could get the documents for my daughter and coincidentally the office was online and they started the process for my daughter.”
Govender said that on 3 March they received an SMS stating that her daughters ID was ready for collection and due to her writing an exam, she was only able to go on 10 March.
“On 10 March it was complete havoc. We went to the offices extremely early and there were so many people already waiting there as well for collection. We were just supposed to sign and collect the ID but for some reason it took us almost two hours to get inside the premises. Once we were inside the premises it took us more than four hours to go inside the doors. We were asked to pay a bribe to be placed in the front of the line which we refused which made the wait worst. While we were outside, we started questioning the security officer at the door and asking why the line was moving so slowly and they rudely told us that again they were offline, which we didn’t understand because we were only there for collection. My daughter missed an entire day of school because of this. The manager was rude and did not want to help. The supervisor only started working when we started asking questions,” she said.
Govender added that there had been many people at the office who were able to go ahead of the line as they paid bribes. “The only way people’s ID documents were being done was because they paid bribes and this I saw first hand. The bribe amounts were going from R300 upwards which was ridiculous as this was suppose to be free of charge. The office is so corrupted that they have also made this a money making scheme where they take advantage of people coming in. The management is full of nonsense and doesn’t now what they are doing as everything that they said were utter lies. Something needs to be done about this because this is unacceptable,” she said.
Another enraged Tongaat resident, Micheal Iyer, said the corruption at the Tongaat Home Affairs needs to be investigated as many people are being forced to pay bribes just so they could sort out their documentations.
He said: “The employees at Tongaat Home Affairs are making money out of people who are desperate to get their documentation sorted out. It is unacceptable and ridiculous. The fact that no one has done something so far is outrageous as this is corruption at its worst. Instead of helping their community get much needed documentation sorted out and basically do their jobs they sit around and do nothing they probably take one person every half an hour because the line did not move. I was there for almost eight hours and I still was not able to get my documentation sorted out.”
Chairperson of Tongaat Civic Association, Don Perumal, said the organisation and has read and seen on various social media posts, by residents who are trying to obtain their documentation at the Tongaat Home Affairs, alleging that they are having to pay high amounts of money in a bribe to speed up the process and jump the queues. Perumal said he was however, under the impression that these issues had been stopped due to the online booking system.
He said: “I would have thought the new online booking system would have eliminated all of these issues as once you book online you provide your sms at the gate and there is no further interference and security should allow you inside the doors. If the corruption is still continuing it is surprising that Tongaat Home Affairs specifically put in this system to stop these outside corruptions. As of recent I have seen that there has not been a long line outside the home affair offices, however, I am not sure what is being done is on the inside.”
A comment from the management of Home Affairs regarding the bribe allegations and the service at the offices were not forthcoming at the time of print.
To report corruption of a state department or state owned entity, you can contact:
• National Ant-Corruption Hotline: 0800 701 701 (toll free number)
• Fax: 0800 204 965 (toll free number)
• Post: P.O Box 582, Umhlanga Rocks 4320.
• E-mail: publicservicecorruptionhotline.org.za; integrity@publicservicecorruptionhotline.org.za
• SMS: 39772
