New system ‘faster, more innovative’ says Home Affairs
According to Home Affairs minister, Malusi Gigaba, the new IT system will lead to faster turn-around times for those applying for ID cards or passports.
![The Department of Home Affairs will deploy 425 additional staff at busiest ports.](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/2016/05/SA-old-id.jpg)
HOME Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba says the new Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) project will help integrate all systems, inside and outside government, to offer a single source for biometric authentication for citizens.
Gigaba said the system will drastically change the manner in which South Africans are identified and will form a back-bone of how the public and private sector will manage the authentication of their clients.
“This modern IT system will integrate with other relevant systems, inside and outside Home Affairs, to allow for one holistic view of the status of the clients,” he said.
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The ABIS project was initiated in January 2016 with an aim to replace the Home Affairs National Identity System (HANIS), which is manually operated and out-dated.
The Minister said the system brings with it several benefits.
It will lead to faster turn-around times for those applying for ID documents or passports, reduced cases of duplicate identities and a future fit identification and security solution in support of national government’s drive towards modernisation of all departments for service efficiency.
Read also: Move to tackle long queues at Home Affairs
On the economy, banks will be able to verify client identification quicker and the tourism sector will benefit due to quicker response times at ports of entry to capture and verify a traveller’s identity.
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