(1)(a) 35 795
(b) 1875
(2)(a) 120
(b) 0
(3) This is as a result of the observation by the Department of a high number of staff being affected in the wake of the second wave of the COVID-19 variant, followed by front offices being temporarily closed due to decontamination and sanitising thereof. This then necessitated and made it imperative for the Department to reduce some of its operational services as part of an attempt to reduce the number of clients who visit our offices who may further exacerbate the spread of Covid-19 among clients and staff.
The Department thereby made a determination to prioritise key services and to offer critical and mandatory enabling documents such as registration of births, death and identity documents. This strategy would not perpetuate high client volumes with the enduring queues, hence the COVID-19 administrative protocols applied as a containment measure to limit the further spread of the virus.
(4) The Department will from time to time conduct a review and consult with relevant structures including the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC). When the situation improves, a determination will then be made to resume pending services including determination and retention applications, in a phased approach and will then be pronounced, as a result.
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