Johannesburg - A Home Affairs official seen in a video clip seemingly preoccupied with Facebook on her cellphone while at work will face internal disciplinary processes, the department said on Wednesday.
The video went viral with Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba also retweeting the video, saying: "I was this morning informed about the video circulating on social media platforms, and have asked the Department of @HomeAffairsSA to investigate this matter and take swift action against the official."
The Department of Home Affairs confirmed that the official is stationed at the Beitbridge Port of Entry, a very busy border post between Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The department said in a statement: "This morning, Wednesday, 14 March 2018, Minister Malusi Gigaba issued an instruction to the Department to act swiftly to address the matter. The Department’s policy prohibits the usage of cellular phones by front office officials while performing their duties.
"The official has been identified and she will be subjected to internal disciplinary processes. Further to this, disciplinary measures have commenced against the three supervisors on the shift for lack of adequate supervision."
Home Affairs Director-General Mkuseli Apleni expressed his displeasure at the lack of attention paid to the actual duty performed by the official in direct violation to the policy against use of cellular phones at workstations.
“Of major concern to me is the fact that the official is dealing with security documents without paying attention to detail and rather preoccupied with her cellular phone. To this end, we have commenced with disciplinary measures against the official and the three supervisors,” said Apleni.