Home Affairs downtime causes chaos for travellers

DEPARTMENT of
Home Affairs (DHA)
offices’ systems
around the country have
been experiencing severe
downtime of late, causing
chaos for both travellers and
agents who need certain
identification or passport
documents to apply for visas
and book travel.
Reducing downtime is
currently at the top of
Minister of Home Affairs,
Malusi Gigaba’s, agenda,
according to the department.
An industry insider told
TNW that one of his clients
had been trying to collect
their Smart ID Card at
the Newtown office for
three weeks. When he last
accompanied his client to
try and collect the card, the
systems were offline again.
Over 300 people were lined
up outside and a group of
outraged customers actually
stormed into the office,
overpowering the security
guards and pushing into
others in the queues, before
the police were called.
Another source told TNW
that their client had visited
the Wynberg office five times
to renew their son’s passport
and four of the five times,
their systems were offline.
In both cases, the downtime
has prevented the travellers
from going ahead with their
holiday plans.
Mayihlome Tshwete,
spokesperson for the DHA,
is aware of the constant
downtime at DHA offices
all over the country and
the extreme delays that
it is causing. “The DHA
unfortunately cannot do
anything when SITA, our IT
service provider, is offline.
There is currently a weakness
in the software network that
needs to be fixed to ensure
stability and consistency in
our systems.”