South Africans must say goodbye to the green ID book

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is on a quest to eradicate the green bar-coded ID book to ensure every South African has a smart ID card with more protection.

This is according to Home Affairs director-general Tommy Makhode, who was responding to questions before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs.

Makhode was highlighting Home Affairs’ initiative to digitally transform the department as part of ongoing efforts to combat fraud and address the problem of forged ID books and passports.

“We cannot over-emphasise the issue of digitisation,” said Makhode.

“This means we have to get rid of the paper records, which we are currently doing — it’s a project that’s ongoing.”

Makhode said over 30 million records have been digitised.

“Subsequent to that, we have to eliminate the green bar-coded ID. As soon as we do that, we can move to the digital realm.”

Smile ID’s 2024 Digital Identity Fraud report found that South Africa’s green ID book was the most targeted in Africa for fraudulently gaining access to various services.

The firm said national IDs were regularly targeted because they were the most common form of government identification and mandatory for most adults.

Besides giving access to welfare benefits, Makhode said they had picked up forged documents being used to apply for bank loans.

The DHA blocked over 700,000 suspicious ID books due to alleged fraud and forgery but faced a legal challenge to release the identities of people human rights lawyers said were collateral damage in the sweeping action.

South Africa has been replacing its decades-old ID book with a smart ID card since 2013.

However, the process has dragged on for much longer than initially anticipated.

The cards feature improved anti-fraud features, including a microchip that can securely store the cardholder’s biometric information, which can be verified without needing to be linked to a central database.

Physical security measures include holograms, laser engraving, and personal details.

Unfortunately, Smile ID said that the switchover to new IDs could increase fraud — at least for as long as the old document remained a valid means of identification.

“Logistical issues around properly discarding the older IDs can lead to them falling into the wrong hands,” Smile ID said.

The Department of Home Affairs has determined that green ID books must be handed in when people collect their new smart ID cards.

The old document is then supposed to be destroyed. However, this does appear to be happening in all cases.

This could either be due to incompetence or corrupt officials, which have often brought the DHA into disrepute.

Therefore, to address the ongoing fraud and forgery plaguing South Africa’s identity documentation, the green ID book must be invalidated as soon as possible.

However, Home Affairs must also ensure that, in its rush, it does not inadvertently issue smart ID cards to fraudsters.

This requires addressing the corruption that has taken root within the department.

To tackle this problem, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has doubled down on the efforts of his predecessor, Aaron Motsoaledi, to digitally transform the department.

Schreiber has dubbed his plan “Home Affairs @ home”.

Besides removing points of human intervention in the document application process, Schreiber said a fully digital system will allow the department to offer online services to citizens, residents, and prospective visitors anywhere in the world.

He said their future end-to-end digital platform will handle all applications, adjudications, and communications between South Africans and the department.

After an online application for an ID, passport, certificate, or visa is submitted, a machine-learning-based risk engine will verify the completeness of the application.

The system will authenticate users, check for fraudulent documents, conduct facial recognition checks, cross-reference databases, process cashless transactions, and communicate the outcome to the applicant — all within seconds.

“No more standing in queues, no more waiting months or years for an outcome, no more being kept in the dark about the status of an application,” Schreiber said.

“And no more space for officials or syndicates to solicit bribes for a transaction to be processed.”

Schreiber said there was no logical reason why they would not be able to offer a service where IDs and passports are delivered to the door of the applicant anywhere in the world.

“Exactly like is already done in the banking sector with debit and credit cards,” he said.

He said if the department gets this right, the need to visit Home Affairs for routine transactions will be eliminated.

This shift would also enhance the work environment for department staff, allowing them to focus on more exciting and productive tasks.

“This would include devoting our staff to serving those who truly need it most,” said Schreiber.

“Including the poorest members of our society, people in rural areas, the 10% of South Africans who don’t yet use smart devices, and those exceptional or complicated cases that require more resources to resolve.”