NELSPRUIT – The premier, Mr David Mabuza has explained his application for a new smart ID card from the Department of Home Affairs as freedom and moving away from the painful past.
Addressing journalists outside the local home affairs offices, Mabuza said applying for his new card was a step forward in identifying himself as a “truly free” South African.
Mabuza was given an opportunity by the department to apply for it in order to allow members of the provincial legislature and senior citizens to follow. He expressed his satisfaction at the application time. He said the time was fair although it would mainly depend on the efficiency of the computers.
“I am liberated now, I do not have to carry a green bar-coded identity document any longer. This is my real freedom, I am indeed moving away from the past.
“The system is uncomplicated. I was verified positively on the spot as a South African, my application was received and I was told to come collect my card this coming Thursday.
“The experience was great, I would like therefore to encourage the people of Mpumalanga to come in numbers and rubber stamp our new-founded democracy by obtsining their smart ID cards,” said Mabuza.
He told senior officials that the provincial government would assist in ensuring that they reached their target of 100 000 people in applying and receiving their smart cards by the end of March.
“When it comes to the elderly, we are interested as a government because they are fragile and complicated people. We would not want them to stand in the queues for a long time. We do not want incidents in the lines as we might be criticised. We want to make sure that they do not die in our hands.
“We should do everything to ensure that they are comfortable enough, otherwise they might not come. The department should determine exactly how long it will take to process a certain number of individuals. As a provincial government we are ready to give the necessary support,” said Mabuza.
The roll-out of these cards in Mpumalanga is currently being done in Nelspruit, Witbank and in Middelburg. Offices in Piet Retief and Ermelo are being equipped to follow soon.
The new IDs have advanced security features and citizens will be invited by home affairs to come and apply according to their dates of birth.
“The system is very short. In the past you had to fill in many forms and wait for about three months while the documents were sent to Pretoria for processing. Now everything is electronic and you are told on the spot if your application has been successful,” said Mabuza.
Read more about the smart ID cards here.
