Those who have to endure the frustration of the chaos at the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) in Roodepoort, might have an alternative later this year.
The Department of Home Affairs will pilot eChannel, a system that will allow citizens to apply for their passports and smart ID cards at their nearest bank or Post Office, between May and July this year. In August, an assessment will be done to see whether or not the system works.
FNB and Standard Bank had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the DHA and had developed a website, which was envisaged to go online in May, said Mpho Moloi, DHA chief director for channel management.
Home Affairs booths have been set up at each site and are ready to go live next month. Mpho added that agreements with Nedbank and Absa were being finalised.
To avoid long queues, customers have an option to first submit an online application to enter their personal details digitally before completing their applications in a bank, Post Office or Home Affairs office.
“After capturing your biographic details on eChannel, you then come to the bank to capture your fingerprints to verify that you are the person you claim to be,” said Moloi.
The objective of rolling out the system is to ensure that the department replaces 38 million green bar-coded ID books, a process it expects to take up to eight years.
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