- Home Affairs services have been disrupted due to a power failure at a Pretoria office.
- Backup power sources were damaged on Tuesday, halting the issuing of Smart IDs and passports across the country.
- Technicians are working to restore power to the office.
Department of Home Affairs services have been disrupted due to a power failure after damage was caused to backup power sources at an office in Pretoria.
The department said it would not be able to issue Smart ID Cards and passports across the country, because they had to be cleared by the affected office.
It said on Tuesday night:
The only things not affected are birth, marriage and death services.
"Technicians are working around the clock to ensure that services are speedily restored," the department said.
It is hoped service will be restored on Wednesday.
Substation vandalism
Meanwhile, vandalism at the Seboka substation in the Vaal left Palm Springs, Sebokeng, and surrounding areas without electricity. The repairs are likely to take up to three weeks.
The substation was vandalised in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Panel wiring and protection cables were cut and stolen.
"We deplore the continuous theft and vandalism of our infrastructure in this area as this is happening for the second time in a space of two months," said Gauteng Customer Services senior manager Daphne Mokwena.
"When these incidents occur there is loss of revenue and increased replacement costs for Eskom and they also affect essential services such as healthcare facilities," she said.
In July, Eskom shut down the Seboka substation for a month to repair damage caused by vandalism.