The office of the public protector says it is investigating the plight of a young Site C woman, Chwayita Nelani, whose dream to study further had been shattered by her failure to get an Identity Document.
The former New Eisleben High School pupil was was forced to drop out of Grade 11 after failed attempts to get the ID because she does not have a birth certificate(“Young woman in bitter struggle ID”, Vukani March 22).
Assistant Investigator at the office of the Public Protector, Eunice Mashilo, said the matter had been “assessed and allocated” for an investigation.
She said it had been sent to the Cape Town office for investigatio.
Despite promises made by the department of Home Affairs to resolve the matter, Ms Nelani said she had never been contacted by the officials from the department.
When Vukani initially wrote the story, Home Affairs spokesperson, Thabo Mokgola, said the matter had been refereed to the Western Cape provincial manager. He added that officials would be assigned to assist Ms Nelani.
However, a livid Ms Nelani said she had received no correspondence from the department, saying it killed her to see her peers progress. “ I want to have an ID so that I can carry on with my life,” she said. “I have a child and I can’t apply for his birth certificate because I do not have a birth myself. My dreams have been ruined. I could not complete my high school studies because I don’t have an birth.” she said.
Contacted for comment last week, Mr Mokgola said an official had been given a mandate to assist Ms Nelani.
Ms Nelani said said she hoped the matter would be resolved soon.
