Cape Town - Asylum seekers and refugees in Cape Town have expressed their frustration at long waiting periods at offices, saying they were hopeful the new ministry would improve this.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber visited the Cape Town Refugee Reception Office in Epping yesterday, where he got a first-hand look at the procedures that asylum seekers must follow.
The Home Affairs facility opened in April 2023.
“I think there are a number of positive elements. I think the infrastructure is impressive with a lot of digital technologies to move away from manual use of files,” Schreiber said.
Some asylum seekers described their relationship with Home Affairs as “tiring and worn out”.
One of the main issues at the facility, according to a Zimbabwean woman who has spent the past 10 years living in South Africa, is the waiting period.
The woman, who was at the office to renew her asylum seeker and refugee permit was helped after several hours.
“You are satisfied with the outcome at the end, but it is a very long waiting time,” she said.
“I don’t know how it works for status and ID, but I think for people coming here for 3 months and 6 months to update their permits, I think there should be a platform to allow us to get status for two years.”
A 54-year-old man from the Democratic Republic of the Congo said he’s had a difficult time dealing with Home Affairs.
He said that he hoped the new minister would be able to improve service delivery.
Another asylum seeker, Patrick Mavoungou, left the facility out of frustration yesterday due to a miscommunication concerning his working permit.
James Chapman of the Scalabrini Centre added that asylum seekers were given lengthy appointment dates.
The centre has been providing welfare services in Cape Town to migrant communities since 1994.
“Once they stop the arrest, and they allow access, they also need to interview people and have a proper appointment system in place.
“Appointments are given for 2026 and 2027 without any kind of documentation,” he said.
The facility uses the “Epping model”, which is an online system that expedites the ID and passport procedures.
“This small office is the office that can, what you have is a one-stop shop,” said Schreiber.
Meanwhile, Schreiber highlighted that funding, including training and more staff was needed to deal with a backlog for various applications across the country.
Home Affairs managed to reduce the backlog by processing 92 886 applications out of a total of 306 042.
Cape Argus