The Home Affairs Department has stated that it will declare the green identity documents (ID) invalid from the end of 2025 this year.
The department said that it’s trying to eliminate the risk of corruption and fraud, which includes identity theft.
In addition, the department wants all South Africans to replace their green ID books with smart cards, which are ‘more secure’, as reported by SABC News.
Njabulo Nzuza, the department’s deputy minister, said that the programme started in 2013 because the smart-coded ID is more secure than the green bar-coded ID.
‘The green bar-coded ID is subject to identity theft and also credit fraud which we have seen being prevalent. It can also be a source of duplicate cases and that is why we are asking everyone who is on the green-barcoded ID to move to a smart ID card,’ said Nzuza.
‘Very soon before the end of the year, we anticipate that we will have stopped issuing out green bar-coded IDs,’ Nzuza added.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber shared similar sentiments in October, emphasising that green ID books pose a significant risk to users, as reported by The South African.
‘This fragility presents severe security risks, as damaged ID books can be easily altered or forged, making them unreliable for secure identification,’ said Schreiber.
Officials have urged citizens to apply for smart ID cards before the green books are officially fully phased out.
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