Pretoria – Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor has become the first person to receive a smart ID card.
The new ID was delivered to her office today.
The new smart Identity Document (ID) card will be rolled out as from next month. It will first be issued to all first-time ID and re-issue applicants. The department envisages it will take about seven to eight years to do away with the current green ID book.
The smart IDs will initially be introduced at 27 Home Affairs offices across the country, in three offices in each province. According to Pandor, the new ID will take about three days for the applicant to receive.
The new smart ID card will have a microchip, the specifications for which cannot be disclosed for security reasons, which will house the necessary biometric data unique to every individual. The information on the chip will be laser-engraved to prevent tampering.
The smart cards aim to cut down on the fraudulent use of fake or stolen IDs, as the department says the new cards will be almost impossible to forge.
Pandor made the announcement of the new IDs ahead of her department’s budget vote last month. Altech Card Solutions and Gemalto Southern Africa, the successful bidders for the smart ID cards, were also announced last month. – SAnews.gov.za
