Almost a third of the Department of Home Affairs' (DHA's) online birth registration facilities, based at hospitals and clinics, are offline due to infrastructure or IT-related problems.
The Democratic Alliance says, based on a response to a Parliamentary question, 111 of the country's 353 online birth registration portals are unavailable, because of "debilitating" issues.
The DHA started rolling out online registration facilities in March to make sure the National Population Registry's data had integrity. The move also aimed to eradicate identity theft, child trafficking and late birth registrations.
Manny de Freitas, the opposition's shadow minister of home affairs, says 31.4% of the 353 facilities currently available are offline. He says the portals are crucial for speedy birth registrations, and save citizens travelling long distances to DHA offices. "Speedy birth registrations ensure access to crucial services."
Earlier this year, the department said it wanted to connect all 795 hospitals and clinics to online registration facilities to make sure births are registered within the 30-day government-stipulated timeframe.
Official news provider for the state, SA News, reported in January no dates had been set for the project, but the department aimed to roll it out with haste. The Web site quoted departmental spokesman Lunga Ngqengelele as saying it was hindered due to some hospitals having issues with electricity and other unnamed factors.
De Freitas says the DHA has not set out a schedule for deploying the system to the 795 institutions targeted for inclusion. He says the party will ask home affairs minister Naledi Pandor to explore alternatives, such as partnering with the private sector, to make sure hospitals are online.
The bulk of online birth registration facilities are based at public hospitals and clinics. The department this morning did not respond to a request for clarity around the root cause and when the issue would be resolved.
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