Question NW1139 to the Minister of Home Affairs
05 April 2022 - NW1139
Van Minnen, Ms BM to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(What (a) is the staff capacity of the offices of his department that are located in Somerset West Main Road in Helderberg, Western Cape, that are heavily congested and oversubscribed, (b) number of positions have been filled, (c) is the current situation regarding the full capacitation of the specified office in terms of ensuring all the workstations are properly equipped, (d) are the causes of the alleged congestion and (e) steps will he take to ameliorate the situation as the queue outside the offices impairs the dignity of the citizens of the Republic who make use of the offices where hundreds of persons wait many hours for services that are not forthcoming?
Reply:
a) The Somerset West Office has twenty-four (24) posts on its fixed staff establishment.
b) Fifteen (15) posts are currently filled.
c) It is envisaged to fill two (2) front office clerks, two (2) Immigration Officers and one (1) Control Immigration Officer posts before the end of July 2022. All workstations are currently equipped and will be further capacitated once the above mentioned appointments are concluded.
d) The building is shared with the Department of Labour. Clients for both Departments are using the same entrance. The Department is looking at the possibility of using an alternative entrance, unfortunately the building is classified as a heritage site and no alterations may be considered to the facade of the building. A secondary cause for the congestion is the various lockdowns due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the limited services available to clients as per the lockdown restrictions.
e) Several overtime projects have been conducted to increase access and alleviate the congestion.
END