Villiers: Home Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, launching the Free State Provincial Stakeholder Forum in the Free State, today, Thursday, 2 December 2010, reiterated the view that identity documents are crucial to the alleviation of poverty and underdevelopment, especially amongst economically challenged communities.
Meeting with the MEC of Social Development Sisi Ntombela, district and municipal representatives, as well as officials from the Department of Home Affairs and South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), Minister Dlamini Zuma launched the Provincial Stakeholder Forum which follows the establishment of local district stakeholder fora since January 2010. There fora have been established with a view to improving service delivery to local communities.
As part of her visit to the Villiers, Minister Dlamini Zuma, along with other stakeholders, visited four homes during which identity documents and birth certificates were issued to the occupants. The families also received food relief parcels as part of the province’s commitment to creating a better life for all.
Minister Dlamini Zuma said, “A better life for all begins with an ID document.An ID enables citizens to access all other social opportunities, including healthcare, education, as well as social relief in the form of child support and other grants.Citizens are also able to access employment opportunities since many employers require identity documents as a condition of employment.”
“We have seen, almost without exception, that those who encounter difficulties in applying for identity documents later in life also do not have birth certificates. We are therefore calling on all parents to register their babies within 30 days of birth.It is our intention, to issue IDs to those who are 16 years of age and above.”
“The registration of births within 30 days, as much as it is the law of this country, also assists in securing our national population register (NPR). Through the NPR campaign we aim to build a secure and credible national population register with a single point of entry, at birth.The partnership between government and its people, through compliance with this, will also allow government to plan to meet the needs of its people in the long term. The number of children registered in any year will inform government’s plans for education, healthcare, housing and other social needs in the long term.”
“A secure and credible population register can therefore only be achieved when we all recognise the importance of registering the births of our children.Working together we can really achieve more,” concluded Minister Dlamini Zuma.
Enquiries:
Ronnie Mamoepa
Cell: 082 990 4853
