Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, Hlomani Chauke, has urged the Department of Home Affairs to consider an outright ban on mobile phone usage by front-line staff during working hours at all Home Affairs offices.<\/p>\n
In a statement released on Monday (14 January), Chauke said that his committee has received numerous complaints from the public about delays at Home Affairs offices.<\/p>\n
“It is unacceptable that the public spend excessive amounts of time at Home Affairs offices, while officials spend a disproportionate amount of time busy with their mobile phones,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Officials are primarily employed to offer a service and the complaints point to dereliction of duty by some officials, yet they continue to draw a salary at the end of the month.”<\/p>\n
Chauke added that it was also concerning that these practices have been witnessed at ports of entry across the country, which gives a bad impression to visitors when they arrive in the country.<\/p>\n
This is more concerning because the President has anchored his economic growth drive to tourism, which will be undermined by poor service, he said.<\/p>\n
Chauke said that a guiding framework on the use of mobile phones at front desks should now be drafted and implemented across the country to ensure standardisation.<\/p>\n
The framework must also include guidelines for how officials can be contacted in cases of family emergencies.<\/p>\n
“We are, of course, cognisant that one of the major causes of long queues is the downtime caused by unreliable information and technology software, but professional service at the department must improve,\u201d Chauke said.<\/p>\n
“Public service is based on adherence to Batho Pele principles, which call for high-quality service and courtesy. As such, measures must be put in place to encourage and, where necessary, enforce adherence to these principles.<\/p>\n
“At its first meeting of the year, the committee will invite the Minister and the Acting Director-General to give an update on measures implemented to resolve this challenge.”<\/p>\n