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Hanis, smart ID cards due by 2007

By Itumeleng Mogaki, ITWeb junior journalist
Johannesburg, 27 Oct 2005

The Home Affairs National Identification System (Hanis) and smart ID cards are on track to be rolled out from the end of 2007.

This is according to Home Affairs deputy minister Malusi Gigaba, who addressed delegates at the Cards Africa conference in Sandton yesterday.

The R1.8 billion Hanis project, conceived in 1993 and approved by Cabinet in January 1996, got under way in earnest in May this year. It is intended to digitise all home affairs information.

Gigaba conceded that there are challenges ahead. "Some of the vital challenges include verifying the identities of all South Africans, and integrating technologies to come up with a multiple identification card system.

"We must remember that the implementation of the system is not an easy one, as we are also dealing with national identity documents, thus everything we do requires extra security measures."

To ensure the proper functionality of the system, the department is looking at all the identity archives and online verifications, and improving data security, he noted.

"The system should be as secure as possible so as to ensure the security of all our citizens.

"To implement Hanis, we need to draw a basic technology infrastructure, that will at the end, ensure full connectivity and a single view of all government offices."

Gigaba said smart ID cards must be able to perform multiple applications such as e-payments, e-grants for pensioners and possibly even include driver`s licence information. He noted that this is entirely possible, but said: "The only way this is going to work is if the government and private sector form partnerships."

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