She’s not easily moved to tears but at Skhumbuzo Mhlongo’s funeral the minister of home affairs couldn’t help shedding a few.
The fact a young man had committed suicide because he couldn’t get an ID book upset Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma deeply. It also upset scores of readers who read about this tragedy that happened in KwaZulu-Natal and wrote to us about their experiences with the department.
Sean Edgcumbe (19) writes that according to home affairs his brother doesn’t exist.
“My brother, Keegan, was born on 25 March 1994 and was taken to be registered a few days later. It then took six years for home affairs to send his birth certificate, after a lot of phoning and work by my mother, Jacqueline.
“A few years later my mom found out she needed a vault copy [a certified copy of the full handwritten and stamped paperwork issued at registration of the birth] of the birth certificate. Further investigation showed the birth certificate she had wasn’t the vault copy. She then applied for the vault copy in October 2008 and was told it would take two months. After two months she was told my 15-year-old brother wasn’t on the system and basically didn’t exist.
“Without his vault copy birth certificate he can’t get his ID and without his ID he’s nobody.”
Helena Smit writes on behalf of Sylvia Phumeza Dlangeza of De Doorns who has been waiting for her ID for five years.
“Sylvia has to travel 40 km to Worcester with every inquiry. And every time she’s told they’re looking into the matter but it never seems to happen.”
She could have had a job as a court interpreter if she’d had an ID, Helena says. Meanwhile she has a part-time job in a clothing shop - and without an ID she may work only 24 hours a month.
Felicity Wade of Pretoria writes about home affairs’ incompetence: “I applied for unabridged marriage and birth certificates on 28 October 2008. The waiting period for these documents was supposed to be six to 12 weeks but when I went to collect the documents after six months I was told they weren’t ready.”
From the letters we’ve received it’s clear many South Africans have had to wait months - even years - for an ID book. They also highlight serious errors such as two people allocated the same ID number and an ID issued with the incorrect photograph affixed. No wonder service delivery (or lack of it) has people fuming.
