The Free State Legislature is on a tour to encourage people in the province to apply for their identification documents (IDs).

The tour, led by speaker Ntombizanele Sifuba, said they want to convey to people the importance of having an ID. At their Bethlehem visit, they also heard residents express the issues they have faced when it comes to dealing with Home Affairs. Some of the important reasons she mentioned for having an ID are being able to register for matric, and also to vote in elections.

They have thus far visited three towns in the province, Harrismith, Qwaqwa and Bethlehem. The next town on the list includes Sasolburg. At these visits, they are joined by various stakeholders such as Home Affairs, the Department of Health, and Sassa. These agencies are joining the legislature in their efforts to bring services closer to the people.

One of the challenges that many have experienced is how they can never get their IDs in time because of load-shedding. Only a certain number of people can be assisted in a day due to Eskom’s load-shedding schedule.

Some of the issues that were mentioned by residents who showed up at the Bethlehem visit were mostly changing citizenship issues. One person told OFM News that she has been struggling to apply for her ID since the death of her husband in 2022. This has halted her and their children from receiving any form of inheritance as she needs to produce a South African ID. She has never needed one before, even when she and her late husband got married.  

She has over months been sent for police clearance and other documentation, however, in the end, she still has not succeeded. Another 20-year-old expressed how she is still without a birth certificate because her mother, a foreign national, could not complete her birth certificate when she was born because she also does not have citizenship or an ID.

The issues have been sent to the Department of Home Affairs to see how they can be solved.

OFM News