Africa-Press – Eswatini. Frustration, impatience and anger.
These best describe the emotions some emaSwati had to endure this week after being forced to run from pillar to post trying to have their new passports processed at the Ministry of Home Affairs in Mbabane. So nasty was the situation that on Thursday afternoon, there was a reported embarrassing confrontation between around 80 passport-seeking emaSwati and some Home Affairs officials in full view of onlookers. This was after the doors were rudely closed on the faces of the disgruntled citizens who had travelled long distances with the hope of securing their passports.
Travelled
Investigations by the Eswatini News revealed that some of these people had travelled from as far as Lomahasha, Mankanyane, Nhlangano and Bhunya to the Home Affairs Ministry in the capital city since Monday, but had still not received their passports by yesterday.
This means for four consecutive days, some had to take public transport, others had to fuel their cars and travel to and fro, as they could not get assistance the first day. Upon realising that the closing of the doors meant that they would be heading back home empty-handed, emotions got the better of them as they forcefully opened the door, demanding to see the Minister of Home Affairs Princess Lindiwe Dlamini.
Jeopardy
Lungelo Dlamini of Bhunya alleged that he had been turned back at the Home Affairs Ministry three times the past week alone, stating that this had put his job offer in Durban, South Africa in jeopardy. “I am supposed to be in Durban by now (Thursday afternoon) to start my new job, but I cannot travel with my expired passport. This is one of the documents I am required to produce in Durban, but by the look of things, it looks like I would lose this job opportunity, which is very frustrating. What is annoying is the attitude these people display towards us, it is like we do not exist at all. They open and close the doors as if we do not exist,” Dlamini alleged.
Demanded
He confirmed the incident on Thursday, where they demanded to see the Home Affairs minister and allegedly forcefully opened the doors after it was closed on their faces. “I have been coming here since Monday and I can tell you that people are now fed-up with the poor service delivery. I have already spent E500 this week alone, travelling to and from this place along with buying food during the long hours we stand in the queue. Mind you, I am still going to spend an extra E500 to get a new passport and this is a huge loss for an unemployed person like me,” he alleged.
Lucas Mahlalela of Lomahasha shared the same sentiments, revealing that he had received an offer to work in Mpumalanga, but was now unable to travel due to the passport challenge. “I am very frustrated because the people who work here do not seem to understand how much I stand to lose if they continue to delay issuing my passport. I stay in Lomahasha and spend over E100 everyday on public transport getting to Mbabane. I have been coming here since Tuesday and have lost a lot of money already without getting the help I desperately need. Some of the Home Affairs officials are very disrespectful towards us, they do not care at all,” Mahlalela alleged. He confessed to have thought about using the illegal crossing routes to travel to Mpumalanga, but was warned against it by his family and friends.
Unfortunate
“I am desperate and the thought of using the illegal crossing has crossed my mind, but I was advised against it, so I heeded. The unfortunate part is that I have been given a deadline to report to Mpumalanga, failing which I stand to lose the job offer,” he lamented. Mahlalela called upon the Home Affairs minister to take time to see the situation on the ground where passports are processed and how the staff treat them.
Noteworthy is that the minister’s office is situated just upstairs barely a few metres away from where those seeking new passports are made to wait. “I was hoping to see the minister coming downstairs to assess the situation, but through all these days I have been coming here, I have not even seen her face. This then makes me wonder how the minister is going to appreciate the challenges we are facing when she does not spare even a few minutes of her time to check on how her officials are treating us,” he said.
Mduduzi ‘Mazayoni’ Makhubu of Nhlangano said he has enrolled at a college in Johannesburg, South Africa and was supposed to have travelled already for the registration formalities. “I am running out of excuses explaining why I have not registered by now and running the risk of losing my place at campus. It is difficult to understand why we are being made to suffer this way.
Angry
“The Home Affairs service centres in other regions are not working due to lack of passports and we are told that we must come to Mbabane for such service, the very same place where we are not getting any assistance,” said a visibly angry Makhubu. Worth noting is that the long queues and poor customer service by Home Affairs officials were some of the concerns highlighted by many emaSwati during the recent Sibaya held in November 2023.
Makhubu said he has enrolled to study Human Resource and Procurement in South Africa, wondering how government would run out of passport stock in this day and age. “Even worse, only a few are able to sit on the bench that is provided while the rest of the people are forced to stand the whole day waiting for their turn,” he added.
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