NIGHTMARE AT HOME AFFAIRS OFFICES

Sir,

This letter is about a nightmare experience I went through on Monday, March 15, 2021, at the Manzini Home Affairs offices. I went there to apply for a birth certificate for my son. But before I narrate about what I felt of the gross mistreatment of desperate emaSwati, who seek vital services they pay for in numerous government offices, especially at the notorious Home Affairs Offices, I want to congratulate the minister of Home Affairs. I applaud her for taking some time off, a couple of weeks ago, to monitor the nightmare experience undergone by many at these offices. It was long overdue. It is gratifying to note that not long after her visit to the offices, we read about positive changes manifesting themselves in the form of extended working days. This is what I call positive leadership skills.

Applying

Back to my nightmare experience; I visited the offices a week or so prior to the aforementioned day and was told that applying for birth certificates is conducted only on Mondays. I woke up on the day and was on my way by 5am. When I arrived at 6am, there were already scores of people waiting for the offices to open. When I asked around, I was directed to a young man who was registering names of people who were there for various services. I was number 43. I learnt that some of those at the top of the list had slept near the premises the day before in order to be first in the queue.

At 8am sharp, we were summoned to assemble by the gate and at that time, the numbers had swirled up to 100 or more people. A religious service began and it was followed by a lecture, over loudspeaker, on COVID-19 precautions. Another official lectured us about the procedure to be followed to various services offices. Those who were there to apply for death and birth certificates were told to return the following day, since, apparently, there were technical issues in those offices, like computer hiccups. Those to collect IDs were informed to collect them on Friday.

We were warned that improperly worn masks risked a fine of E100, as well as a fine of E50 for wearing hats; women wearing trousers were scolded. A list of names for birth certificate applicants was called out and I primed my ears hoping my name would be called. My mother-in-law, since my son’s mother had passed away, had travelled from Ludzeludze to be a signatory to the application, had already arrived. When the list reached 30, we were told that, that was it. They only attend to that number, per day!

You should have seen the despair on our crestfallen faces. Some had slept around the premises the day before, others like yours truly, had woken up during the wee hours of the morning, queued, and now this; after all the trouble one had gone through only to be turned back at the last hurdle. There were allegations doing the rounds that in order for one to make the list, and/or obtain a certificate quickly, without the headache of queuing, one had to bribe his/her way in.

As a writer, I felt it my duty to expose the sufferings undergone by emaSwati in their own country. Why are there incessant system breakdowns in such crucial offices? Why are such vital offices, which were designed to serve the public, allowed to offer such services only on selected days, like Mondays when applying for birth certificates? Is the registering of names legal? Who checks if such is not subject to manipulation, where officers make an extra buck? Why do some of these officers allegedly charge illegal fees for such affordable fees? It is alleged in Manzini, one has to part with amounts as high as E350 for a E50 service.

The snail’s pace bureaucracy in government offices gives rise to manipulations by unscrupulous officers. We are a country living in the 21st century, but still conduct services fit for medieval times. Taxpayers part with hard-earned cash to get their money’s worth in services, but what goes on in those offices is a corrupt nightmare. We understand that the minister is not privy to a lot of negative on-goings in the ministry, but can she please do something as this is a ticking time-bomb.

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