Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi instructs the Department to comply with a court order and to institute disciplinary action against officials responsible for the delay
The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, learnt with anger about the plight of a minor child who could lose R8 million in foreign inheritance due to conduct of officials of the Department and a flagrant disregard of a Court Order. The Minister believes that the mother of the minor child ought not to have been forced to approach the courts of law in the first place.
Minister Motsoaledi instructed the officials of the Department to comply with the Court Order issued by the Pietermaritzburg High Court and amend the birth certificate of the minor child forthwith. Indeed, the birth certificate has been amended and the mother of the child has been informed accordingly.
Minister Motsoaledi is scheduled to reach out to the mother of the minor child and convey his sincere apology regarding the manner in which she was treated by the officials at the Centurion Home Affairs offices.
The Minister views the conduct of the officials of the Department in this incident to be totally unacceptable and falling far too short of standards set by the Constitution and policies of Government.
He has given the Department two weeks to conclude an investigation into the conduct of the officials at the Centurion Home Affairs office and the failure to comply with the Court Order. Following this investigation, disciplinary steps will be taken.
“Laziness, treating members of the public with disdain and failure to uphold the law have no place in such a crucial Department charged with the constitutional and statutory responsibility to issue documents that empower and change the lives of people,” said Minister Motsoaledi.
Enquiries:
Siya Qoza (spokesperson for the Minister of Home Affairs)
Cell: 082 898 1657
David Hlabane (media manager for the Department of Home Affairs)
Cell: 071 342 4284
