Lesotho’s Department of Home Affairs is struggling to cope with an influx of citizens seeking to renew their documents, resulting in long queues and desperate measures. The Mohale’s Hoek office, which produces passports for the entire country, has been overwhelmed, with thousands of Basotho migrant workers returning home for the festive season to regularize their documents. Many have been forced to sleep outside the office, only to be turned away due to limited staff and capacity.
The situation has become so dire that some individuals are resorting to crossing swollen rivers on foot or on the backs of paid ferrymen to reach South Africa, putting their lives at risk. This has led to reports of near-drownings and other accidents. In one incident, a woman carrying a child on her back slipped on wet stones while crossing the Tele River and was swept downstream before being rescued by two men.
The Lesotho government has responded by extending operating hours and opening passport offices and ID centers on weekends to deal with the demand. Prime Minister Sam Matekane has also appointed a new permanent secretary to oversee the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftainship, Home Affairs, and Police. Mpopo TΕ‘oele, the new permanent secretary, has been tasked with restoring dignity to public services and ensuring that citizens can obtain documents in a timely and dignified manner.
The crisis has been exacerbated by the expiration of national identity cards, which were first introduced in 2013 and are valid for ten years. Many Basotho migrant workers have been forced to return home to renew their IDs before they can apply for new passports. The situation has also been complicated by the fact that passports are produced at the Mohale’s Hoek office before being distributed to other districts, creating a bottleneck.
The government’s efforts to address the crisis are ongoing, with a focus on improving efficiency and reducing wait times. In the meantime, citizens continue to face challenges in obtaining the documents they need to work and live in South Africa. The situation highlights the need for more effective and efficient systems for managing migration and document issuance, as well as greater cooperation between Lesotho and South Africa to address the root causes of the crisis.
