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Possible delay in smart ID rollout

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Johannesburg, 24 Jul 2015
Home Affairs aims to replace green barcoded IDs with smart IDs by 2018.
Home Affairs aims to replace green barcoded IDs with smart IDs by 2018.

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is unsure if it will meet its target for replacing all the traditional green identity books in SA.

According to a Business Day report, DHA minister Malusi Gigaba warned that his department might not reach the target of replacing 38 million traditional IDs with smart ID cards by 2018.

In 2013, the DHA announced it aimed to replace all IDs in SA with smart IDs that have security features which would make them difficult to forge or tamper with. The department noted it would take between six and eight years before all South Africans have smart ID cards.

In an attempt to accelerate the roll-out of smart ID cards, earlier this year the department announced it would launch a pilot project that would see some of SA's banks handle smart ID applications.

Banks tapped to be part of the six-month pilot included First National Bank, Standard Bank and Nedbank.

At the time, DHA spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete said the pilot project with the banks would kick off by the end of March 2015.

However, the DHA has made no further announcements as to whether the pilot project with the banks has started or when it can be expected.

FNB CEO of points of presence, Lee-Anne van Zyl says the bank supports government's smart ID card rollout.

Van Zyl says an agreement with the DHA regarding the application for and collection of smart card identity documents has been signed.

"FNB will make a further announcement regarding the launch of this project in its branches in coming months. The smart IDs will be available at selected FNB branches across the regional centres and close to public transport hubs," she says.

Nedbank's Philip Wessels, group executive of retail and business banking, says the bank is ready to enable clients apply for new smart ID cards via its branch network.

"The bank is currently stress-testing aspects of risk management, system capability and sustainability at its Sandton head campus, which has been earmarked for the first roll-out phase," says Wessels.

Security

Maeson Maherry director at specialist security solutions provider, LAWtrust, says the problem with the traditional IDs is that there is no real security feature to reveal whether it's a fake ID book or not.

"The big plan behind the new smart ID is to have better physical features so that it can be easily spotted whether it's real or fake," says Maherry.

The fact that it's a chip-based ID means that you can interact with the card electronically and that is the long-term difference, he says.

"The card will also have a person's fingerprints and I think that is the big security feature because the smart card will be able to verify fingerprints," he notes.

Maherry says the DHA's process to issue the new smart IDs is also about capturing the identity of SA citizens properly and accurately.

In January, DHA stated that more than one million smart ID cards have been issued. DHA also noted it is confident of reaching its target of 1.6 million ID cards by the end of the 2014/15 financial year.

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