Home Affairs sends a warning to South Africans with stolen, lost, or damaged IDs

Home Affairs has warned South Africans with stolen, lost, or damaged IDs to urgently replace their documents ahead of the election rush. 

Individuals without an ID or damaged documents and smart ID cards will not be allowed to vote in November’s municipal elections. 

Home Affairs deputy director-general Thulani Mavuso told Newzroom Afrika that the department expects a rush to replace IDs before the election. 

This is likely to create capacity constraints in some parts of the country, given the abnormally high number of requests in a short period of time. 

As such, Mavuso said South Africans who need to replace their documents should do so as soon as possible to ensure they can vote. 

“The voters’ roll has already been developed. It is generated from the population register and only has your ID and your name,” Mavuso said. 

This means the only valid documents you can present when voting are your green ID book or smart ID card. 

For those who are too late or cannot obtain a replacement, Mavuso said they can obtain a temporary ID certificate (TIC). 

To limit the use of these certificates, Home Affairs is extending its office hours in the buildup to the elections to process the rush of applications. 

“A lot depends on where you are located. For example, if you are in Pretoria and you apply for the documents, because the IDs are printed in Pretoria, it is easy,” Mavuso said.

“If you are in Port Elizabeth, we will have to move documents, so that is why the number of days will vary significantly.” 

Mavuso explained that the expansion of Home Affairs’ partnership with commercial banks has significantly helped it in this regard. 

The use of bank branches to process applications has increased the department’s reach and taken pressure off its existing offices. 

“I mean, in the period from March till now, in September, the second week of September, those banks have actually given us 700,000 smart ID cards,” Mavuso said. 

“So the footprint is quite huge, and we do believe that if people collect, then we shouldn’t be having a number of people who do not have documents for the purposes of voting.” 

Mavuso said the department will prioritise the elderly, the disabled, and children seeking their first smart ID card when processing applications.