Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2014-01-31
South Africans are about to become smarter. The department of home affairs is finally ready to introduce the smart identity card. This effectively means that the days of the green ID books are numbered.
Pensioners will be able to apply for smart identity document cards from February, Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor said at a breakfast briefing hosted by the New Age in Johannesburg.
Pandor said People would be invited to apply according to their month of birth. “Pensioners born in January would be the first to be able to apply for the new cards from next month.
“So don't just come, we will invite you to come on your month of birth," she said.
“Our intention is to issue at least 100,000 smart cards by 31 March.”
She said the issuing of it would be a paperless process, and the card would be top of the range.
South Africans have been utilizing the green ID books for years while other countries evolved. The green ID book has become cumbersome and "prehistoric" compared to the technology available today.
The smart ID card is the size of a credit card and will replace outdated and obsolete systems.
It uses modern biometric technology to record details on a chip on the card. The memory is sufficient to store a wide range of public sector details…like your marriage licence details, drivers licence details…
The smart ID card will allow citizens to have a modern identification card than the outdated book that is easy to forge and easy to interfere with.
Cost
So how much will the new smart card cost?
“First issue is free (ie. To persons who have not had ID’s before – Usually 16-year olds) and also free to pensioners. The cost for the rest is R 140,” Deputy Minister for Home Affairs Fatima Chohan told Radio Islam.
Home affairs say that it is working with other government departments to get drivers licenses and social security information loaded onto the smart card.
The smart ID card is more than just a piece of plastic an unlike a credit card won’t cost you and arm and a leg. It is a piece of technology that pushes South Africa to identify its citizen in a more modern way as opposed to a system that has become superannuated
(Twitter: @Faizie143)
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