The Department of Home Affairs intends issuing South African citizens with new smart ID cards this year, although the exact rollout details still need to be worked out.
The cards aim to cut down on the fraudulent use of fake or stolen identity books, and will have biometric features unique to every human being. As a result, says the department, the cards "will be almost impossible to fabricate".
The smart cards will also have embedded microchips, which can be used to secure state pension payouts. Additional uses are being considered. Globally, electronic ID card projects are enabling next-generation e-government for millions of people, from simple identification cards, to fully-integrated systems extending across public sector departments and into the private sector.
Minister Naledi Pandor says the plan is to issue the smart cards this year, and she will announce a specific date. Home affairs is finalising the deployment plan. "The principle is that the rollout will be in a phased approach. Part of this approach is to target old age pensioners first, or Cabinet ministers, or have people apply by their month of birth or by age group," she adds.
However, the project will come at a cost, as the department says, although it is still working out pricing, the cards should cost the same as the first issue of an identity book, which the cards will replace, and is currently charged at a subsidised cost of R140.
According to Statistics SA, based on the latest census figures as of 2011, there are 51.8 million South Africans, of which 36.7 million are 15 years of age and older. As only people who are 16 and older can apply for an ID book, the cost to individuals will cumulatively be in the region of R5.1 billion.
Long time coming
The card project was originally supposed to be piloted at the end of 2008, using pensioners as the sample group, but the pilot only took place early last year. The printing contract, which had been sent out to tender and then cancelled due to irregularities, will now be handled by the Government Printing Works.
Home affairs' smart card project forms part of the overall overhaul and modernisation of the department, at a cost of R1.2 billion. Pandor says the project is going well, although there was a bit of a delay after the settlement of a dispute with Gijima.
The project, which started in 2008, aims to replace the department's outdated and obsolete legacy systems, as well as improve security. Home affairs cancelled the deal with Gijima in April 2010, which resulted in implementation stalling.
However, the dispute was resolved in January 2011, costing Gijima R374 million, and home affairs paid out R852 million to own hardware instead of leasing the equipment.
Pandor says more than 45 border posts have been equipped with the new electronic movement control systems, and the document imaging system is in place to digitise documents.
Plans are in place for the next phases of the modernisation programme which will include the automated visa and permit solution, a new national population register and a queue management system, says Pandor. She adds that the plan should be wrapped up by the end of the 2015/6 financial year.
"Citizens will start to see the concrete results and feel the positive impact of the modernisation project and smart ID card in the next financial year."
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