This is Africa :(

I am now convinced that government offices across the African continent are all the same. Remember how it felt waking up at the most ungodly hours to queue up at Harare’s passport or birth certificate office? Remember how rude and uncooperative those civil servants were? I know countless stories of people having their paper work dropped instantly because “it’s tea-time” or “lunch time”. Absolutely amazing how inconsiderate some of these people were. Whatever happened to empathy?

Anyway back to my point. Over the past four weeks I have been trying to help a friend process an identity document for their daughter who happens to have been born in Uganda to Zimbabwean parents. Now the parents wish to return to Zimbabwe and need a one-way travel document for their daughter. Simple enough??? I wish.

What was supposed to take 48 hours and cost 15USd has ended up in a month long ordeal involving multiple visits to multiple offices at the immigration offices, several investigations and all at a grand total cost of USD215! All through this we have had to deal with the most uncooperative people. If I thought I had left the typical civil service mentality in Zimbabwe, I was wrong. On many occasions I made appointments with people who either came late or did not even turn up. The most frustrating was the day before the end of the ordeal. The counsel who was representing us was not in the office when we arrived at about 10am. We were told he had gone for prayers. All well and good.

I enquired how long he would be away for I was told “I am not one of them (his fellowship) so I don’t know. Try after 2 hours” I went away and returned after the prescribed two hours. The counsel was still out. I was advised to wait and dutifully did so in the sweltering heat, competing for space under a makeshift tent with many others (at least they are considerate enough to provide this given the punishing sunshine in Uganda). Needless to say an hour later and the man I wanted to see was yet to appear. Still at prayers????

By this time it was approaching lunchtime and from previous experience I was wise enough to know that nothing constructive can take place during this “sacred” hour. So I left and returned at 2:30pm. Still no counsel. He eventually arrived (from prayers) at 3:00pm and because I did not have a piece of paper (there were many I have had to carry around lately) I would have to come back and see him the following day. Absolutely brilliant!

What I still can't figure out is what sort of prayers take place from 10 am to 3:30pm. And what sort of employer, regardless how God fearing, would allow you to be away from work for that long. I wonder how things get done in Africa when we spend so much time on tea breaks, having lunch, in prayers, at burials or in traffic jams (my experiences in traffic jams is a story for another day and what a story it is!)

Eventually as I said we did get the document. Thankfully!