Durban - Corruption is allegedly rife at the Department of Home Affairs eThekwini office in Umgeni Road.
One person pointed to a sign to prove a case in point.
“Please note that paying for spaces in the queue is regarded as bribery and is a criminal offence.
“Persons making themselves guilty of this may be arrested and criminally prosecuted”
A young woman, who was standing in the line for the third consecutive day, claimed a man had offered to stand in the queue for her until he reached the designated front desk, requesting a fee in return, but said she sent him packing.
“He offered me a place for R400, but I refused. He reduced the price to R150 but I was not prepared to pay for something which is illegal.
"When we tried to alert the officials, they said they could not do anything as it had happened outside the office. The sign on the glass indicates that they are aware of what is happening.”
She was prepared to wait, she said, to apply for her Smart ID.
An elderly woman, also waiting to apply for a Smart ID, said the department and officials had no compassion for them.
“We have to stand outside for hours. This is not right.”
A person near her could not understand why she had to stand in line just to collect her identity document.
Mark Govender, who returned for the second time last week, panicked as he reached the front of the line and was told he needed an affidavit.
“The first time I came here for my temporary ID, I missed the cut-off and was lucky to get a ticket this morning. But the man who hands out the tickets asked if I had an affidavit. Why didn’t they tell me this before?” he asked.
The Umgeni office hands out 300 tickets a day to applicants waiting in the queue.
Govender continued to stand in the line hoping he would be attended to.
“For some of us coming here for the first time, they should check if we have all the necessary documents instead of making us wait and then turning us away.”
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