Zululander due to retire may be unable to claim a State pension after ID hassles
A resident has tried for two years to have a new ID document issued with her correct ID number
TRYING to get an ID card issued with the correct ID number is proving a major headache for one Richards Bay resident who, due to retire within the month, is worried she will not be able to claim a State pension.
Thenjiwe Magogovana’s troubles first started when her original ID book, for which she applied in Paulpietersburg, displayed an ID number showing the incorrect year of her birth.
Since 2015 she has tried, at a major cost to herself, to get the correction made and a new document issued.
Staff at the Richards Bay Department of Home Affairs (DHA) office advised Magogovana to, in the absence of a birth certificate, acquire proof of her identity before the relevant changes could be made.
She went as far as returning to Matatiele, her place of birth, to get a letter from her old school – a trip which cost her R500 – but to no avail.
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She was told she needed a clinic card or something similar to prove she was born in 1954.
After numerous telephone calls to hospitals and clinics in Matatiele, it was determined that none was able to issue the proof Magogovana needs, as one clinic opened only in 2009 and no others have records dating back to 1980, let alone 1954.
At her wit’s end, Magogovana turned to the ZO and, after some investigation, a helpful Richards Bay DHA official agreed to contact the Matatiele school on her behalf to request an extract from the school’s register as proof Magogovana attended the school.
The issue appeared to have been resolved as Magogovana was advised to wait for her new ID document.
However, a month later and this has not arrived, and there has been no further contact from DHA.
Other DHA news is that SA citizens not born in South Africa are not yet able to apply for the new smart card as this service is yet to be extended to them.
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