Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has announced that any South African citizen aged 16 years or older can now apply for a Smart ID card.
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba announced today that any South African citizen aged 16 years or older can apply for a new Smart ID card through an expanded eHomeAffairs online portal.
This comes after the age bracket was initially limited to those aged between 25 and 40 years old. Presiding over the announcement, Gigaba stated that “œAs from today, the system is now open to all citizens who bank with the four participating banks.”
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“œAs we reimagine Home Affairs, it is these global technological developments we are exploring, for the benefit of the modern citizen and client… At the end of the day, giving citizens a hi-tech, fraud-proof smart card serves to advance South Africa‘s commitment to building a new national identity system that is credible and reliable,” Gigaba stated.
The announcement further included the fact that negotiations were underway with the four participating financial instituitions – Absa, Standard Bank, First National Bank, and Nedbank – to expand the programme.
So far, the participating banks with internal Home Affairs offices can be found in Johannesburg, Centurion, Pretoria, and Cape Town:
Johannesburg
- ABSA Towers North
- ABSA Ghandi Square
- FNB Towers
- FNB Merchant Place, Rivonia
- Standard Bank Killarney, Rosebank
- Standard Bank Johannesburg
- Nedbank Rivonia
- Nedbank Lakeview, Roodeport
Centurion
- ABSA Centurion Lifestyle
- FNB Centurion Lifestyle
- Standard Bank Centurion
Pretoria
- FNB Menyln Square
Cape Town
- Standard Bank Canal Walk
Gigaba cited that since the initation of a pilot project, over 35,371 submissions have been made through the eHome Affairs system; Home Affairs further plans to expand the programme to more bank branches by the end of October.
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Source: The Citizen
