Civic Centre to host local Home Affairs branch by July 2026
The City of Cape Town has handed over the site at the Civic Centre where the National Department of Home Affairs will establish an office to serve clients on an appointment-only basis. Alderman Theresa Uys, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services and custodian of the Civic Centre facility, officiated the handover ceremony on Friday, 5 June. This marks a historic moment for both spheres of government where the focus is on improving access to key government services.
The City of Cape Town’s Economic Growth Directorate in consultation with the Corporate Services Directorate, has obtained Council approval and is finalising a lease agreement with the National Department of Home Affairs to establish an appointment-only office at the Civic Centre on Hertzog Boulevard in the Cape Town central business district.
The office will be located on the second floor of the Civic Centre, next to the City’s cash office.
‘We are delighted to hand over this site to the National Department of Home Affairs so that construction can commence to prepare the office for operations. To minimise disruption to our customers and visitors, building work will take place after hours, over weekends, and on public holidays.
‘I am advised that, if all proceeds according to plan, the office will be operational before the end of July, and we look forward to reaching this milestone.
‘It is truly remarkable what we can achieve when the different spheres of government collaborate. The possibilities are endless, and in this instance, I am grateful that we can improve our service delivery to Capetonians with streamlined, appointment-based access to a critical government service at the Civic Centre. The Civic Centre is centrally located with convenient and easy access for those using public transport – whether you travel to the inner-city by train, with the MyCiTi bus service, or minibus-taxi. The Civic Centre also offers a dignified space for visitors to conduct their business. Going forward, we will use every opportunity to optimise our City facilities in service of our residents,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Corporate Services, Alderman Theresa Uys.
‘This property transaction demonstrates good governance in action. By optimising our property assets, we ensure that City-owned land and buildings are leveraged in a way that delivers the greatest possible benefit to communities, supports economic activity, and unlocks long-term value for residents,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos.
The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, said: ‘This new office is another important step in our vision of “Home Affairs @ home”, which is transforming access to government services by bringing Home Affairs closer to the people we serve. In less than three months, our bank branch partnership has expanded to 171 bank branches and processed more than 182 717 Smart ID applications, demonstrating the impact of making services available where people live, work and travel. As we continue to expand access, we are making Home Affairs more accessible and delivering dignity for all South Africans.’
