Durban - Sitting with a little notebook and pen in his hand, a Westville man can be seen counting how many people are called into the Department of Home Affairs Prospecton District Office per hour.
“You will be surprised, but this is the best method to check if it is worth us waiting to be served,” said the man, who declined to be named.
“My wife and I were not part of the 80 given tickets this morning. We were told we could wait but at our own discretion.”
The man said he had been counting the number of people going into the building since 8am.
“Every hour they take between 10 to 13 people. At 11am, according to my notes, over 30 people were called to make their applications for either Smart IDs or passports or for collections.
"My wife and I stand a good chance of making our applications for IDs before the office closes at 3.30pm. That’s if the systems don’t crash.”
The man added that he would rather wait at the Prospecton office than any other Home Affairs branch.
“At Umgeni Road the lines are long and people are often turned away, while at the Pinetown office, people stand in queues on the pavement outside.
"This makes them vulnerable to criminals looking for soft targets.”
He added that these government buildings and its ablution facilities needed renovation.
For Glenmore resident Lorraine Watt waiting in the queue in Prospecton was a better option than Umgeni Road.
The 66-year-old, who was applying for her passport and Smart ID, said safety was a concern.
“I would not want to wait outside the Umgeni offices from 1am as it would not be safe for an elderly woman such as myself,” she said.
This was the second time in the week that Watt had been to Prospecton.
“On Monday, I had not made the cut off number and decided to try again today.”
She said many people, like herself, were fed-up with the lack of service delivery and order.
“There are no signs or notice boards to direct you in the right direction. Some have sat in the lines for marriage or birth certificates yet they wanted to have their Smart IDs or passports done.”
Watt continued: “While sitting here, someone who had not been following the queue walked into the offices and was served. This caused much anger among those who had been queuing from 5am.”
The department, she said, needed to find solutions to make the application processes easier.
“There are already many banks in Gauteng, which enable you to apply for your Smart IDs. This needs to be implemented in KZN.”
Grade 12 pupils, who were there as early as 6 am, said they urgently needed Smart IDs to register for the matric exams.
One said she had applied through her school last year, but it was never sent to the school.
Standing near the end of the queue, she said she had to miss a day of school and if she was not seen to, would have to return the next day. “My mother would also have to take leave from work as she would need to accompany me.”