Mapaballo Borotho
- ActionSA has criticised the Department of Home Affairs’ decision to courier passports to South Africans living abroad.
- The party says the move shows misplaced priorities as citizens at home still face broken systems and long queues.
- ActionSA plans to demand full disclosure of the initiative’s costs, warning it could drain millions from taxpayers.
The Government of National Unity (GNU)’s opposition party, ActionSA, has slammed the Department of Home Affairs’ newly announced initiative to deliver passports directly to the doorsteps of South Africans living abroad.
ActionSA’s Parliamentary Chief Whip, Lerato Ngobeni, described the move as “tone-deaf and offensive,” arguing that it exposes the government’s skewed priorities.
“It is offensive that Minister Schreiber finds money to courier passports to London, Dubai or Sydney, while grandmothers in Mthatha, Alexandra, and learners in Diepsloot cannot access an ID to collect their social grants, write their matric exams or apply to study at tertiary institutions,” said Ngobeni.
Ngobeni added that while the DA minister boasts about this so-called innovation, millions of South Africans continue to face “daily humiliation” at dysfunctional Home Affairs offices, enduring long queues, constant system crashes, and poor service delivery.
The criticism follows Thursday’s announcement by the Department of Home Affairs, introducing a doorstep courier service for passports as part of its broader “Home Affairs @ Home” vision to make services more accessible globally.
ActionSA, however, has vowed to submit a written parliamentary question demanding full disclosure of the initiative’s financial implications.
“Who will foot the bill for these courier services and logistical arrangements?” Ngobeni asked, warning that early estimates suggest the project could cost taxpayers millions each year, money that could be better spent improving domestic service delivery.
“The truth emerging is that the Department of Home Affairs has become a tale of two South Africas one for the privileged few living abroad and another for the forgotten majority at home,” she said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber hailed the initiative as a “watershed moment,” saying it reflects his department’s commitment to digital transformation and decentralised access.
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