Home Affairs planning to open 70 more offices for Smart ID cards

Loyiso Langeni
16 September 2014

Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba on Monday said so far the department has managed to open 70 offices across the country dedicated to Smart ID cards. 

The department is planning to open 70 more during this financial year.  Minister Gigaba opened a Smart ID office at Maponya Mall in Soweto on Monday.

He said by the end of this month 30 more offices dedicated to smart ID cards will be opened across the country.

“At the present moment only 16 year-olds first time applicants and those who are 60 years and above have been asked to come forward apply for their documents and their applications are free of charge.” Gigaba added.

Meanwhile Minister Gigaba urged people to collect their ID cards as soon as they become available. 

He said at the present moment about 92 000 cards have not been collected across the country.

Minister Gigaba said more will still be done with the ID cards to offer a more integrated government service.

Gigaba also said in the next five or ten years we will be using this ID card for a lot of other services from national health insurance to driver’s licences to social security and even students cards at Universities, It can carry all of those applications.