Permits: computerised system blamed for delays

BABOKI KAYAWE
Staff Writer | Monday April 18, 2011 00:00

Worse still most left unattended despite having been in the queue as early as 5am. Most of those who had gone to convert their permits to the newly introduced computerised system blamed the change as the source of delays, with some even alleging that most staff members are still unfamiliar with the technology.  Rhoda Sekgororoane, who does work permits on a consultancy basis, says since the system came into effect late last year delays have been prevalent but last week was the worst so far.  'Network is always down and the sad thing is the staff just leave us without explaining what the problem is,' she says.

She also blames the current leadership for failing to offer timely service delivery. 'The regional director was recently transferred to the headquarters and the new leader doesn't know his team, and unlike the former he doesn't check if costumers are served well,' she says.  The South East Regional Office is very busy, by virtue of being the service centre for thousands of South African and Zimbabwean nationals. A concerned Zimbabwean, Ernest Ncube, who had gone there for three days and still did not get help, says service delivery at this point has gone from bad to worse with the advent of the computerised system.

'It is very slow now, and the staff can just take a break and chat with each other without attending to customers,' he says. Another complainant, who preferred anonymity, says she has been experiencing the situation for six months. She says she spent two days trying to process work permits for her employees, but there has been no progress.

'They always say the network is down,' she laments. When contacted for comment, the Regional Director, Joseph Motsomi said he was not aware of the situation. He, however, confirms that the office usually has long queues.

Motsomi referred The Monitor to Christopher Nyanga whom he said is the public relations officer for the Immigration division. Contrary to his information, The Monitor has learnt that Nyanga has since left. The digitalisation exercise known as the Immigration and Citizenship System (ICS) was rolled out by the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs last year aimed at designing, developing and implementing an integrated computerised system for the various immigration and citizenship business functions, namely visas, residence permits, permanent residence, citizenship, investigation and repatriation.