By Ofentse Mokae
13 November 2009
Home Affairs department is currently implementing a new system aimed at speeding up the processing of identity documents.
The service, known as live capture, has already been introduced at 40 regional offices around the country.
The system will secure data captured at front offices.
In a statement the department says the system will capture applicants’ signatures and fingerprints digitally.
“Officials scan the photo of the ID applicant on to a computerised system, which then prints the image directly on the document,” the statement said.
The department says while currently used for passport applications, the system will be extended to ID applications during 2010.
The new technology would save officials time, as they no longer have to manually stick an applicant’s photo on his or her new ID.
“The department’s administration duties would also be dramatically reduced, as until now copies of all citizens’ fingerprints and ID photos have had to be manually collected and filed,” the statement added.
Government is planning to equip every Home Affairs office with such a workstation by the end of its turnaround drive in March 2011.
Other technology developments within the department, is the Home Affairs Information System.
HANIS converts existing hardcopy records from paper-based images into digital images to allow for faster and more accurate identification of persons, currently houses 33 million sets of fingerprints and more than 13 million pictures.
The department is also investigating making changes to the birth certificate to include more information and make it more secure.
The current certificate is easy to forge.
13 November 2009
Home Affairs department is currently implementing a new system aimed at speeding up the processing of identity documents.
The service, known as live capture, has already been introduced at 40 regional offices around the country.
The system will secure data captured at front offices.
In a statement the department says the system will capture applicants’ signatures and fingerprints digitally.
“Officials scan the photo of the ID applicant on to a computerised system, which then prints the image directly on the document,” the statement said.
The department says while currently used for passport applications, the system will be extended to ID applications during 2010.
The new technology would save officials time, as they no longer have to manually stick an applicant’s photo on his or her new ID.
“The department’s administration duties would also be dramatically reduced, as until now copies of all citizens’ fingerprints and ID photos have had to be manually collected and filed,” the statement added.
Government is planning to equip every Home Affairs office with such a workstation by the end of its turnaround drive in March 2011.
Other technology developments within the department, is the Home Affairs Information System.
HANIS converts existing hardcopy records from paper-based images into digital images to allow for faster and more accurate identification of persons, currently houses 33 million sets of fingerprints and more than 13 million pictures.
The department is also investigating making changes to the birth certificate to include more information and make it more secure.
The current certificate is easy to forge.
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