Home Affairs is one of the departments affected by the situation which has seen residents being unable to be assisted with services such as, amongst others, applying for identity documents (ID), birth and marriage certificates.

According to the office manager, Tshweu Majoro, his team is trying their best to ensure that residents are assisted even though the facility now has to render services for only five hours daily due to health reasons. Majoro says this time frame is stated by the health policy. "The situation is affecting us negatively since the toilets are unable to be used. We are apologising to our clients. This situation is [out of our control] since it has been said that the dams have no water, " he explains.

Speaking OFM News this morning, some of the residents who were waiting with hope that they will receive services somehow, said this is one of the toughest situations they have ever seen. A student, Nthabeleng Moloi (25), says she had lost her ID and wants to reapply for another one as the schools are about to reopen. "I really don’t know what to do because there is no way I could get funded by National Students Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas) since I no longer have an ID. I have been trying to come to the Home Affairs Department as early as around 4am with the hope that I will get services but nothing is adding up this far," says Moloi.

OFM News/Tumelo Khota