Today, Friday 11 May 2012, marks the launch of the campaign by Home Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, to deal a decisive blow against the scourge of duplicate identity documents (ID) which has brought grief and pain to thousands of South Africans.
The campaign which began today, takes the form of mobilisation of the 29 000 affected South Africa through the publication of their names in several mainstream media beginning with The Star and the Pretoria News.
The first phase of the campaign will run for several weeks during which there will be the further publication of the names of those affected in media across the country, including the departmental website and other forms of modern technology to get the message across. The second phase will include a list of 83 000 other South Africans similarly affected.
In this regard, Minister Dlamini Zuma reiterates her view that "that the issue of duplicate IDs continues to cause untold suffering to our people. These make it impossible for citizens to engage in business, financial and economic transactions, further their educational studies, access social grants and other government services. We share in their grief and pain and commit ourselves to ensuring we can speedily address their challenges."
Accordingly, we have taken the step to publish the names to ensure we can indeed begin to address the plight of those gravely affected by the scourge of duplicate IDs. In this regard, we call on those whose names appear on the website and in media to approach their nearest Home Affairs offices to have their matter resolved. In pursuance of this objective, all our offices will have dedicated counters and personnel at which South Africans will be assisted.
As part of this campaign, we encourage all South Africans to check the status of their ID by sending an sms to *32551, followed by the letter D and ID number*. Home Affairs systems will immediately verify and provide a response on the status of your ID.
Minister Dlamini Zuma expresses the conviction that the campaign will succeed to the extent to which we build the necessary strategic partnerships with relevant organisations to mobilise those affected by duplicate IDs behind this campaign so that they can together with their fellow South Africans enjoy the benefits of a better life for all.
Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Tel: 012 432 6646
Cell: 082 990 4853 or 073 758 2235
