A young woman was transported to hospital by an ambulance after waiting several hours in a queue for service at the overcrowded Home Affairs offices in Fleet Street, East London, yesterday afternoon.
Bystander Celeste Lakay said the woman had been in the queue since the morning before she collapsed and was taken to hospital. Details of the woman are unknown.
Lakay told the Dispatch that after the incident hundreds of people who were in the queue which snaked outside the building were told to go home as the office could not cope.
“By 1.30pm we were told by an official from the department that we should go home because at 3.30pm they are closing and at 4pm they are going home,” she said.
The Fleet Street office is known for its long queues as hundreds of citizens from local and surrounding areas flock to receive services.
When Dispatch visited the office, hundreds of people were in the queue, mostly seeking marriage certificates and smart IDs.
Thembisa Mayende from Scenery Park said she and her son were turned away from the Home Affairs office in Mdantsane because the smart ID system was not working.
“They told us that all smart ID systems are not working except the one in Fleet Street. We have been waiting here since this morning and what stresses me is that there are people from afar who came here before me and they have been told to go home,” she said.
Mayende is worried that her son, who is doing his matric, could be turned away from school if he did not have an ID.
Home Affairs East London supervisor Xoliswa Mfeketo said they had turned people back because of the high numbers.
She said some people refused to comply with the queue system.
The office could not accommodate the high numbers of people, she added.
“People don’t want to comply when it comes to queuing.”
She said people were coming from as far off as Tsolo.
“It is very painful to us to turn back an elderly person when we are about to close, who has been in the line for hours,” she said.
Lakay fumed at the department’s electronic and physical services, saying they were “inadequate”.
“The workers there do not have batho pele principles.
“You cannot have elderly people in the queue for long hours.
“They say we should apply online but that system is not working properly either,” she said. — mandilakhek@dispatch.co.za
Woman faints at Home Affairs
Bystander Celeste Lakay said the woman had been in the queue since the morning before she collapsed and was taken to hospital. Details of the woman are unknown.
Lakay told the Dispatch that after the incident hundreds of people who were in the queue which snaked outside the building were told to go home as the office could not cope.
“By 1.30pm we were told by an official from the department that we should go home because at 3.30pm they are closing and at 4pm they are going home,” she said.
The Fleet Street office is known for its long queues as hundreds of citizens from local and surrounding areas flock to receive services.
When Dispatch visited the office, hundreds of people were in the queue, mostly seeking marriage certificates and smart IDs.
Thembisa Mayende from Scenery Park said she and her son were turned away from the Home Affairs office in Mdantsane because the smart ID system was not working.
“They told us that all smart ID systems are not working except the one in Fleet Street. We have been waiting here since this morning and what stresses me is that there are people from afar who came here before me and they have been told to go home,” she said.
Mayende is worried that her son, who is doing his matric, could be turned away from school if he did not have an ID.
Home Affairs East London supervisor Xoliswa Mfeketo said they had turned people back because of the high numbers.
She said some people refused to comply with the queue system.
The office could not accommodate the high numbers of people, she added.
“People don’t want to comply when it comes to queuing.”
She said people were coming from as far off as Tsolo.
“It is very painful to us to turn back an elderly person when we are about to close, who has been in the line for hours,” she said.
Lakay fumed at the department’s electronic and physical services, saying they were “inadequate”.
“The workers there do not have batho pele principles.
“You cannot have elderly people in the queue for long hours.
“They say we should apply online but that system is not working properly either,” she said. — mandilakhek@dispatch.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos