South Africans are about to get 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 withering away.

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The smart is card is the size of a credit card and will replace outdated and obsolete systems. Naledi Pandor, the minister of home affairs said that the smart identity card will allow citizens to have a modern identification card than the outdated book that is easy to forge and easy to interfere with.

She said a range of physical and data-security features was being considered, and that there was also on-going discussion about whether to include provision for a pin code as a secondary means of verification, to complement the biometric features of the card.

“A microchip, the specifications for which cannot be disclosed for security reasons, will house the necessary biometric data and the information on the chip will be laser-engraved to prevent tampering,” said Minister Pandor.

Minister Pandor said “Earlier this year the DHA ran a smart ID card pilot. The smart ID card will replace the current green bar-coded ID. The pilot was a success and in the New Year we will make an announcement on the implementation of the smart ID card project.”

“We are on track with our modernisation programme – the upgrading of IT infrastructure; live capture systems for IDs, passports, permits and visas; and the new National Population Register system,” added Pandor

Cost & Implementation

So how much will the new smart card cost? The cost of the card had not yet been determined. Minister Pandor said the cost would not exceed that of the current green bar-coded identity document, which the card would replace. She said the department was discussing how to implement the process. One option would be to issue smart ID cards to first applicants. The project was likely to be implemented over the next four years.

The smart 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.