The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) says its draft rollout plan for the smart ID cards is expected to be approved by the end of this month, and the department will start issuing the smart cards from July.
"We are currently consulting with key stakeholders and the minister will approve afterwards," says head of IT at the department, Sello Mmakau.
Home Affairs minister Naledi Pandor has committed to providing every South African with a smart ID card within the next five to seven years, says Mmakau.
Once the process of issuing smart ID cards is under way, the department could print about three million ID cards a year, using the Government Printing Works. Altech Card Solutions and Gemalto Southern Africa were last month announced as the successful bidders to produce material and software for the production of smart ID cards.
It is hoped the microchip technology in the new cards will cut down on identity fraud. The microchip can be used to secure state pensions, and additional uses are also being considered. The department has said the cards will be "almost impossible to fabricate".
According to Mmakau, the draft rollout plan will prioritise pensioners, Cabinet ministers and members of Parliament. "We are starting [the rollout] from 27 offices - three offices per province - across the country," he says.
Mmakau says the department has two options for rollout, either alphabetically or by month of birth.
The department will also be making provision for people living in rural areas. "We have mobile trucks that are equipped with the same infrastructure you find in offices," says Mmakau. "These trucks are used in deep rural areas where citizens cannot easily access DHA services. We are also developing a mobile suitcase technology solution for this."
Mmakau says while the cost of the smart ID card will most likely be in the same range of the current green ID book (about R140), the first issue is expected to be free. "On getting the smart ID card, the green ID book must be handed in to be destroyed."
The department will, during the rollout period, announce when the green ID book will become invalid.
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