What You Can Expect From South Africa’s Updated Identity System
The South African government is currently working on an updated national identification system with the ultimate goal of building a ‘future-fit’ Home Affairs.
Speaking at an ID4Africa conference earlier this month, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor said that the system will provide a single source of information about all clients, using both biographic and biometric technologies.
“The new national identity system South Africa seeks to build will serve as a master source for civics and immigration management,” she said.
“The modernisation of South Africa’s Home Affairs, when fully and successfully implemented, will re-engineer and automate most of the key processes of the department and yield a significantly enhanced national identification system, and a credible national population register.”
Some of the key elements of the system include:
- Records of persons throughout their lifespan;
- Birth, marriage and death records of residents (citizens, permanent residents, asylum seekers and refugees);
- All persons entering the country will have their biometrics captured during the visa application process or at the point of entry;
- Processing and storing of asylum seekers and refugees’ applications;
- Records of visitors who enter and leave the country;
- Records of illegal persons in the country.
Pandor also promised that the new system will be more customer-centric and will be a secure environment.
“With the advent of the fourth industrial revolution, the ultimate goal is to utilize technology in bringing government services closer to the people, where they live,” she said.
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Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].
