Home Affairs fails young man

Kalipa (18) from Sharpville village outside Tzaneen cannot enjoy the benefits of being a South African citizen because he has no identity number (ID).

The teenager reached out to Herald in desperation for assistance.

He is currently living alone in a house which was left to him by his maternal grandmothers’ spouse, Alfred Kalipa, who raised him since he has was a baby.

Kalipa passed away in 2017.

“I’m told that my mother Yandiswa Patricia Jamlle Abebe, left me behind with Kalipa when I was few months old. “She left a few days after my grandmothers’ funeral after she had an argument with Kalipa.

“The old man raised me as his own child until he passed away,” Simphiwe explained. His mother currently lives in Germiston where she has other children, but does not keep in contact with the young man.

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He was told that his father was a police officer from Giyani with the surname of Myeni.

He has apparently passed away. He survives on odd jobs and also work regularly at a local electric technician’s workshop.

In 2018 he met Nico Hlungwane, who volunteered to be his foster parent.

The pair share similar backgrounds as Hlungwane was also adopted.

In 2019, Hlungwane together with local social workers, arranged for Simphiwe to go to Johannesburg to meet up with his mother, so that she can apply for his birth certificate.

They applied at the Germiston Home Affairs branch where they were given proof of application and were told that after six months the document will be ready.

After 16 months of waiting he still has not received the birth certificate and therefore he still can’t apply for an ID or grant. He also cannot apply for employment nor register at a tertiary institution.

Last year he was fortunate enough to write his Grade 12 examinations after social workers pleaded with the department of education.

The department allowed it because he had already applied for a birth certificate.

“Recently he applied for employment at a retail shop, but he was denied because he did not have an ID,” explained Hlungwane.

The foster parent tries his best to assist, but as a blind man himself, he can only manage to assist a bit as he also depends on disability social grants.

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After Herald’s innervation the Department of Home Affairs head office reached out to the young man and are currently dealing with the case.

Anyone who can assist Simphiwe to get back on his feet can email emelda@herald or call 087 287 6849 or Hlungwani on 076 321 5124.

This is a developing story.