The Department of Home Affairs will pilot a new appointment system in 2022 in a bid to cut down on excessive queueing and corruption.

Source: Businesstech, 03/12/2021

The Department of Home Affairs will pilot a new appointment system in
2022 in a bid to cut down on excessive queueing and corruption.
Briefing parliament on Tuesday (30 November), the department said that
the appointment system has been finalised and will be deployed in
selected offices in the current financial year. It initially plans to
pilot the system in five high-volume offices, it said.
The system is integrated with the national population register to allow
clients to use their ID number to book a slot. This will prevent agents
illegally operating in home affairs offices from blocking slots to sell
them on.
The department has previously said that the new system will use a mobile
app that will allow South Africans to enter their user details and
schedule appointments.
This includes options to book an appointment at a specific home affairs
office in each province, as well as an expected start and end time.
Users are also expected to fill out a declaration regarding their health
and Covid-19 status for health and safety regulations.
The new system forms part of a wider push to improve service delivery at
Home Affairs offices, including a plan to address ageing equipment and
an unstable network which has led to infrastructure issues. The
department also plans to improve internet speeds and system downtime
through new technologies, it said.
In November, Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi confirmed that it
will also expand its partnership with banks to offer additional services
at branches across the country in 2022.
Motsoaledi said the department’s partnership with banks is being piloted
and operated at 25 bank branches. “The intention is to increase the
number of the sites to 70 once the Public-Private-Partnership Agreements
are signed with the banks,” he said.
Home Affairs initially introduced its banking pilot to assist with the
reduction of long queues at DHA offices, to expand the service
platforms, and to allow citizens to apply for Smart ID cards and
passports online.
Applicants are only required to visit the bank branch to complete
biometric requirements, thereby reducing the time spent in the bank or
Home Affairs office.
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