MyHome Affairs Website - Inaccessible for over 2 weeks

If I had to choose one single standout trait to describe the level of responsiveness consistently prevalent in government departments, it is unquestionably a code of silence, instilled into coal-face agents as part of their training. When in Feb 2026 I finally managed to successfully apply online for my green ID book to be replaced by a Smart ID card, I received a notification to make an online booking via MyHome Affairs within 120 days of that notification receipt. Having struggled - due to system unavailable - to log in to that portal, lo and behold it was pure luck that a booking slot for Fri, 22 May (a month down the line) at the Menlyn Mall Home Affairs branch became available. I was overjoyed, but that joy was quashed when I was sent packing for not bringing along my naturalisation certificate; it had completely slipped my mind due to the time which had lapsed. My fault ..... now compelled to rebook a new time slot. And here comes the crunch. For whatever technical reason, the MyHome Affairs system did not permit me to login. Initially, Captcha went into an eternal loop, then when prompted with 'invalid login details' (impossible as all my usernames / passwords are documented and no changes had occurred. Nevertheless, in an attempt to bypass the stupidity of the system, I requested a new password. Contrary to the prompt 'when email is received, click on link to change password', I am still waiting for the 10+ emails to arrive! On Fri, 29 May, I contacted ***( Home Affairs Contact Centre (HACC)) to report my dilemma to a gentleman called January. He offered to redirect my issues to the IT department for resolution. This conversation was followed on the same day by an email with 3 attachments illustrating the problems experienced to *** thereby officially lodging my complaint. Following 3 business days of non-response (the silent factor!) from HACC, I sent an email of complaint on Wed, 3 June to the Minister of Home Affairs at *** CC'ing HACC. Today, Tues 9 June, I sent a reminder email to the Minister of Home Affairs requesting a response. In sheer frustration, knowing full well that my complaint will fall on deaf ears (silent factor!), I decided to vent my anger by compiling this review. For the sake of my own sanity, I am no longer going to pursue 'flogging the dead horse' calling itself the Dept. of Home Affairs. If well looked after, I envisage my 34-year old green ID book will survive another couple of decades, in all likelihood outliving me.