DERELICT Home Affairs in Pretoria

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) began accepting applications for Smart ID cards in Aug 2024 from Naturalized SA Citizens, inviting applicants to book an appointment at a Home Affairs office using the Branch Appointment Booking System (BABS). It's a FARCE!! The DHA website has NOT been updated to accept profile registration by Naturalized SA Citizens, and hence access to the BABS system is not forthcoming. The only recourse currently available to Naturalized SA Citizens is a walk-in into a DHA branch and waiting in a queue for 4-5 hours (if lucky), as experienced by citizens posting negative DHA reviews. Attempts to obtain verifiable information regarding required documents to email address *** on 27 Jan with a follow-up on 30 Jan, remain ignored. A similar request to *** on 31 Jan was also ignored. Phone calls to 3 different DHA numbers in Pretoria went unanswered. In view of DHA's clear demonstration of dereliction in its duties to the public, it makes no sense in pursuing an official enactment which has failed miserably in its implementation, merely adding insult to injury. I am done expending any more of my valuable time on a disinterested and unresponsive DHA. I will continue to rely on my existing well-worn bar-coded ID document for many more years to come.