Cape Town – Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, has revealed that more than 700 000 IDs have been blocked, some suspected of being used in identity fraud.
The systematic blocking of IDs came under scrutiny when the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town took legal action against the department, arguing that it had severe consequences for children.
Parents with blocked IDs cannot register their children’s births or help them obtain their own IDs, leaving children undocumented.
Motsoaledi said that the IDs were blocked as a precaution by officials when encountering suspicious IDs on the system to prevent possible fraud.
Reasons for blocking included stolen IDs, individuals married to multiple people simultaneously, and people with the same ID.
[Listen] Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi speaks on the blocked ID’s @GCISMedia @SAgovnews https://t.co/CVZq4eLBAk
— HomeAffairsSA 🇿🇦 (@HomeAffairsSA) September 21, 2023
Some individuals were found to be receiving benefits as citizens in both South Africa and Namibia, as there were incomplete records of Namibians who had transferred citizenship after Namibia’s liberation.
“Namibia was once a part of South Africa and after liberation the two countries shared records of Namibians who were transferred, but we still have 7,620 who were not transferred. We are made to believe they are living two lives and getting benefits as citizens in both countries,” the minister said.
While 1.8 million IDs have been unblocked so far, approximately 702 000 remain blocked and are under review and investigation.
“We also wanted to unblock them, but the banks warned us that they have made a calculation that if we just jump and unblocked these IDs before the problems are resolved, they are likely to lose R17bn among themselves and it is not safe for the country.
“We are not being malicious and careless. If we become careless and the banks lose that much money, it affects the whole economy of the country,” he said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
