Question NW1217 to the Minister of Home Affairs

Reply:

The Department agrees that there are service challenges with the Municipality of Matatiele. This has informed a recent intervention wherein a senior management team led by the Director General undertook a visit to Mataiele on 2 June 2021 and engaged with municipal officials in finding a solution. The parties have agreed to a set of interventions addressing immediate, short and long term requirements to assist the district in its economic upliftment and transformation. The immediate constraint of DHA not having access to a suitable premise to conduct its business was addressed, and agreement with the municipality has been reached for the lease of a municipal building which will be refurbished to the standards of the department. It is envisaged that a full service live capture Medium Office affording the people of Matatiele and its surrounds with a modernised system to accept and process Smart ID Card applications should be operational by January 2022. For the interim the department is considering deployment of one of its Mobile Trucks for a week at a time to address the immediate demand for services.

The long-term solution entails the building of a fit for purpose DHA office in Matatiele and to this end a building has been identified by both the Municipality and DHA for the relocation of the offices.

END