Dear Dr Schreiber,
it is also on behalf of many others, both in my professional and personal network, that i express our sincere appreciation for your willingness to restore integrity and efficiency in DHA. We welcome you as the person who takes up your responsibilities with commitment. Most of us at some time have been affected by disabling long service delays. As a Belgian permanent resident in PE, I can testify that it took endurance to achieve this status, though I was employed at (UPE) NMU. I am however committed to my professional calling in this country. As a sociologist I understand (dys)functionality of systems and do not take organizational problems personal. Also I do not lightly give up with red tape. A particularly distressing aspect of non - service are the appeal channels for visa overstay due to the pandemic restrictions - when there was no access to apply for extensions at all. Good faith visitors to SA were handed 5-year bans when returning to their homes once air travel opened up. A case in point is an appeal to lift the ban, inconsiderately placed on an elderly Belgian visitor (traveling alone from PE to Tambo to return home to Belgium) while there was still a directive protective blanket extension: at Tambo, without communication or consideration, she was made to sign the undesirable declaration. Since March 2022, with repeated appeals to all appeal channels, as yet no acknowledgement, case number or response was received. Unfortunately, such cases of completely legal, regular and supportive visitors to SA have found no recourse so far. This problem affects also professional volunteers who come out to provide necessary services and who cannot win the battle for the visa! I coach overseas academic interns from Belgium and the Netherlands, unable to assist them in this matter. In Belgium they face the fortress of the Brussels embassy, where getting an appointment often precludes organizing the internship. So, indeed there is much to rectify and your approach is much welcomed by many who will not get around to express their appreciation. Dr Schreiber, you have all mine! Dr Janin Vansteenkiste www.drjanin.co.za ,