Out with the old outdated green bar-coded identity books and in with the new modern smart identification cards.
Within the next year the all-new ID smart card will be in the wallets of the community members of Estcourt.
Estcourt’s Department of Home Affairs with members from their head offices launched the new ID smart card to first time applicants and the old aged on Friday.
First-time applicants and pensioners whom were at Home Affairs on September 19 were invited to apply for ID cards to replace their green identity books.
Billed as “revolutionary”, the smart card Identity Document (ID) will replace the green ID books, which have been prone to forgery and identity theft.
First-time applicants who are 16-years-old and above are eligible to apply for the smart card ID. Pensioners aged 60-years and older, are also eligible to apply for the smart ID card. The above applicants will have their smart card IDs processed free of charge. The rest of the community will be informed in accordance with their dates of birth when to apply for a smart card ID and a fee is to be paid. Applicants watched the rollout process with interest and excitement. The smart cards have embedded microchips storing information such as fingerprints, which can be verified by a specially made card reader.
“The new system is brilliant, it is part of our turnaround strategy to combat forgery both externally and internally,” said Trainee Officer Thokozile Nkabini.
“We are preventing all possible hiccups, but already we are happy with the product that we have,” said Office Manager Hlengiwe Nkonyani.
Mrs Nkonyani added that the new system is paper-less and also enables fast, accessible and efficient, secure services as you receive it within four to seven days after application.