EDITORIAL: Everything is broken
From the fingerprint machine at home affairs to the infamous driver’s licence printer, the state is making its citizens’ lives hell
03 July 2025 - 05:00
“Abandon hope, all ye who enter here” is the inscription above the gates of hell in Dante’s Inferno. It should be posted at the entrance of the Alberton branch of the department of home affairs.
A single static queue stretches 40m from the doors. The visitor gains access at the head of the queue if they can demonstrate proof of having made an appointment. However, this apparent privilege vanishes inside, where there are several queues, none of their purposes identified and none moving...
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