My latest offering to the local rag

December 2005 - I confirm my gardener has an ID book, and is 69 yrs old, and does not get the government old age grant. I help him with the paperwork, and by March 2006 he's receiving it. July 2006 his I.D Book and State old age grand paper go missing. For two years now I have been trying to help him get a new one issued. I even had him in the Pretoria Home Affairs head office for a whole day, but no one knew how to help him. Problem was he couldn't prove he is who he says he is. Can you get an affidavit from your old school / school teacher? was the kind of "assistance" he got!

March 2008 - we track down, and find one of his children. We get him to accompany my gardener to the Offices of the Home Affairs in Krugersdorp, where he fills in all the forms, does the photos and fingerprints, and an affidavit is drawn up by his son. Done! Come back in 6 weeks they say. 6 Weeks later, oh, there is a problem with the fingerprints, redo them. Come back in 3 weeks. Week 1 - nothing, Week 2 - nothing. Week 3 - nothing. By now I am ready to call for and stage a mass demonstration outside of the HA offices! Week 4 - he goes in, and the person behind the counter keeps referring to "Jo-Jo"! My man doesn't understand, so the international signal of rubbing the thumb against the forefinger is shown! A bribe! Thats what is required to get this thing moving on!!!
Fortunately there were others who also started to get annoyed by this delay in process, and request for Jo-Jo. A "senior" person comes out, does some screaming and shouting, looks around and finds a couple of boxes full of applications stashed away in a corner! These have never been sent off to Pretoria!!!!
it is disgusting to think that these "employed" "civil servants" would do this to their own people! I cannot begin to imagine how deep the corruption must go in the current Governing structures. It is high time that functions like these be outsourced to private companies, where proper, stricter controls can be administered. The problem with government employees is that they are inept, uneducated, untrained, and only go to the office so as to draw their monthly pay. Oh, and to collect the mandatory Jo-Jo's of course.
Hopefully the contents of the discovered boxes are now on their way to Pretoria, and these people can get their ID books sooner rather then never!

I think it's time an investigation was started by a) The Local DA, and b) The local SAPS into the business within the Home Affairs offices in Krugersdorp. I am sure there are hundreds of ways to "trap" the culprits, get them charged, and fired. Come on, this is where 90% of all our crime is committed, and it affects the poor and needy the most.

I am ashamed of you all in Home Affairs. The only reason you have a job is because the very people you steal from voted for the party that employed you. In a real world democracy you would be unemployable, and more than likely in jail.

Salagatle!