Eastern Cape home affairs staff down tools over coronavirus

Panic-stricken employees at the Eastern Cape home affairs offices in East London and Komani downed tools and turned clients away, saying they could not help them as they had no protective gloves, masks and sanitisers to shield them from Covid-19.

Queues at both offices snaked down the street as irate people wanted to know why they were not being seen to.Hours later, at both offices, officials emerged and told them that they were locked in meetings, demanding protective items.

Home affairs provincial manager Gcinile Mabulu asked DispatchLIVE to contact him later. At the time Mabulu had specified, he was not available.

Komani resident Linda Jordaan, who visited the office to fetch her marriage certificate, said she had been there from 8am.

By 11, nobody had attended to her. When staff eventually attended to those in line, it was to tell them that they did not have protective gloves and masks and therefore would not be able to help them. Even when Jordaan showed them she had her own sanitiser, staff refused to help her.

Jordaan can be heard in a voice note asking a home affairs official when they would open the office. “We are waiting for the hand sanitiser,” the woman attending to irate customers could be heard saying.

Cape Town-based photojournalist, who visited the department's office to collect documents, said an official had told them that they had attempted to get sanitisers from the nearby health department, but with no luck.

DispatchLIVE visited the East London office where about 300 people queued in three lines that snaked up Fleet Street. Only one queue got helped, irate clients said. The queue was only for people who came to fetch documents. Anticipating long queues, Duncan Village resident Nosbonelo Mzimele, 30, said she had arrived at home affairs at 6.30am, but after waiting almost two hours workers told her they feared the coronavirus.

“I've been waiting here since early morning. It's now 11am. They keep coming outside to tell us they're not working today because they don't have hand sanitisers, masks and gloves. They only took 10 people inside at 8.30am and that was the last time they came out.”