Ministry Of Home Affairs Horrors

I WOULD like to express my dissatisfaction with the service rendered by the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Office in the Northern Industrial area in Windhoek.

I went to look for a birth certificate on 19 December 2005 and again on 20 December 2005. The first day I simply had to go back to work because the scene was absolutely chaotic.One cannot find where the queue starts or stops.If you are working then you need to apply for a day’s leave in order to get the national documents.Apparently there are supposed to be three queues: one for those who are registering a death; another one for those who are registering births; and a third for those who are looking for ID cards.All these queues converged at one door, which is opened and locked intermittently.During the second day, which was 20 December 2005, I had no choice but to go through the nightmare.I went there at 09h00 am and was finally able to get the national document at 12h00.For me it was better because I was alone, unlike some of the mothers who were standing with their infants in their arms complaining softly.It is a pity that mothers have to be made to stand for hours like this.Customer care is non-existent and this simply reflects poor service and inefficiency from the top level.I have no doubt that the Home Affairs management is as weak as their staff in that office.Certainly if anybody wants to do research on inefficiency in the Public Service one needs not go further than the Home Affairs office in the Northern Industrial areas in Windhoek and you will be shocked to see how people fail to perform basic tasks.It is high time that the Government recruits suitable people to provide national documents in an efficient manner.I don’t know how this office operates during peak times, as this was off-peak when many people had left for holidays.Mr PS and your directors, please wake up and make your staff do their best.Disgusted WindhoekThe first day I simply had to go back to work because the scene was absolutely chaotic.One cannot find where the queue starts or stops.If you are working then you need to apply for a day’s leave in order to get the national documents.Apparently there are supposed to be three queues: one for those who are registering a death; another one for those who are registering births; and a third for those who are looking for ID cards.All these queues converged at one door, which is opened and locked intermittently.During the second day, which was 20 December 2005, I had no choice but to go through the nightmare.I went there at 09h00 am and was finally able to get the national document at 12h00.For me it was better because I was alone, unlike some of the mothers who were standing with their infants in their arms complaining softly.It is a pity that mothers have to be made to stand for hours like this.Customer care is non-existent and this simply reflects poor service and inefficiency from the top level.I have no doubt that the Home Affairs management is as weak as their staff in that office.Certainly if anybody wants to do research on inefficiency in the Public Service one needs not go further than the Home Affairs office in the Northern Industrial areas in Windhoek and you will be shocked to see how people fail to perform basic tasks.It is high time that the Government recruits suitable people to provide national documents in an efficient manner.I don’t know how this office operates during peak times, as this was off-peak when many people had left for holidays.Mr PS and your directors, please wake up and make your staff do their best.Disgusted Windhoek