While the Home Affairs office in Caledon is far from perfect -- much like the hell affairs of many other offices in the country -- it is possible to be helped within a morning without queueing before dawn, as long as the system is online. And if you time it right, you can walk right in. Daily Maverick readers also share their experiences.

There was no queue outside the grey and somewhat shabby Home Affairs office in Caledon at 2.30pm last Wednesday, as opposed to the block-long queues seen outside offices in Randburg, Johannesburg, Cape Town central and Mitchells Plain.

Inside, a polite security guard ushered me through the Covid protocols and asked what service I was seeking. The system was online and an application for a smart ID card could be processed.

Having come in shortly after me was Stellenbosch student Liam Quinlan wanting to update his passport, which was last issued when he was a minor. Stepping aside to let him proceed, I explained to the security guard that I was, in fact, a journalist wanting to see what the service in Caledon was like, having received a range of mixed comments from readers. I asked if it...