Man's 3-year fight for ID book

2003-04-30 08:35

Nalini Naidoo

Pietermaritzburg - Three years and three applications later, pensioner Claude Plaatjies is still waiting for his ID book. Now his pension and only source of income is about to be stopped because he has no identity document.

A frantic Plaatjies does not know how he is to survive and his wife is worried that his health will suffer because of the stress and trauma he is going through.

He receives a civil pension from the Government Employees' Pension Fund and was told last week that unless he produces his ID he will not get a pension in May.

Plaatjies says what bothers him is the don't care attitude of the staff at the local Home Affairs office. "Even when I told them their inefficiency will cost me my pension, they made no effort to hurry matters along.

"Since July 2000 I have been pushed from pillar to post, sent from one person to the next. Each time I reach the level of a supervisor I hit a blank wall. All I am told is that my name is not on the computer and that's the end of the story - they can't be bothered to do anything more. Their only solution is for me to re-apply for my document and that's what I've been doing for the last three years."

Plaatjies said that once, while he was watching the news on television, the newscaster mentioned the name of a senior official in the department of Home Affairs. "I wrote to him in Pretoria and didn't even get a response to my letter."

He first applied for his ID book in 2000 and made his second application at the same time as his granddaughter, on March 29, 2001. Six weeks later she got her book, but he did not. After another year of going up and down to Home Affairs, he was told to make a third application, which he did on August 12, 2002.

This week he went back to the local office and was told the supervisor was not available to see him. He was passed on to yet another person, who Plaatjies said appeared more polite than other officials he had previously dealt with.

"Mr Mdlalose told me to come in with all my papers and he would make another application. This would be my fourth application since July 2000. I can't take this any more. How am I going to pay my rent and put food on the table?"

The Natal Witness contacted the local Department of Home Affairs yesterday, and within minutes received a call from Dina Laue, supervisor of the ID book section. At first she indicated there was a problem with Plaatjies not having a birth certificate. He said he does have a birth certificate, although it is old and the writing is not clear. At one time, Home Affairs sent him to the Government Archives in Pietermaritz Street to verify his date of birth and he did this.

A short while later, Laue called back to say she had been in touch with Home Affairs in Pretoria. They had all the other documents and all they needed were photographs.

She asked for Plaatjies to go in and they would sort matters out. However, he was wary of going in alone, saying he didn't trust the department. Every other time he tried to see Laue, he did not get past the locked gate of the administration section, as the receptionist would just say Laue was not available. He believed the same thing would happen.

"Those receptionists know my face. They will take one look at me and make some excuse. I'm not prepared to go back there, I'll just be wasting my time," he said.

A Natal Witness reporter accompanied Plaatjies to see Laue. She took him downstairs for photographs to be taken and said the matter will be given urgent attention. She took down Plaatjies' telephone number, which she said she will pass on to Pretoria, and agreed to explain to the Government Employees' Pension Fund about the delay in his getting an identity document.

- The Witness