South Africa February 2007 |
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| Home Affairs hammered over lack of documents, (Cape Argus, 2007-02-04):-The Home Affairs Department is in trouble again, this time with the people who look after the welfare of our children. They say millions of South Africa's poorest children do not have access to poverty alleviation programmes because they lack documentation. Katherine Hall, a senior researcher with the Children's Institute in Cape Town, said many of the country's poorest children lived in remote areas and so struggled to get to a Home Affairs office. She said in some parts of the Eastern Cape mobile offices, with a commissioner of oaths on board, had been sent into the communities with great success. They served as one-stop application points where all manner of essential documents could be completed. However, in many other areas, villages were inaccessible and people lacked money for transport to get to Home Affairs. When such people did make the long and expensive journey they were often asked to provide proof of identity - another massive complication. "Because of our past, many people have never been on the system," said Hall. She said children were often deprived of a child support grant because they did not have birth certificates and their caregivers did not have ID books. A classic example was an impoverished mother in Khayelitsha who had no form of identification and who was saving to travel to Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, where she had attended school many years ago. Hall said the woman hoped the teachers or principal would remember her and give her a letter, which she could use as proof of her identity. Bukelwa Voko-Nobatana, of the Alliance for Children's Entitlement to Social Security (Acess), said: "Home Affairs is seen as a hindrance in the delivery of services." She said information was often captured incorrectly, which meant when people received their documentation it was incorrect and they had to restart the process. In many cases applicants were not given correct information regarding documents that were needed for an ID. Then there were the many children who had been left with their grandparents in rural villages and who did not have any form of identification to access grants. She said it was only now that letters or affidavits from village chiefs were being accepted to verify identity. Acess members had started a database of complaints, to be presented to Home Affairs when it had training workshops. The Department of Social Development has also been accused of not being user-friendly. Voko-Nobatana said in many cases people applying for grants were turned away without proper explanations. "Officials are interpreting policies differently and frontline staff don't know as much as professionals working in the field," she said. Acess had suggested to the department that members of civil society in the field train Home Affairs staff. "Often these people don't see the community they are serving as clients. They just see them as desperate and destitute people," said Voko-Nobatana. Home Affairs spokesman Jacky Mashapu described the complaints as "malicious lies". He said the efficacy and success of the social grant system was proof that Home Affairs was doing a good job. Those who were benefiting obviously had the necessary documentation. | |
South African Migration Project (SAMP) - Queen's University - http://www.queensu.ca/samp |