"Due to the magnitude of work to be done and new software that had to be transmitted to the offices, several technical errors were encountered which affected operations at modernised offices," the department said in a statement. 

"By the end of business on Monday, 1 April 2019, most of the front offices were able to transact and issue enabling documents (80%) with an exception of a few (20% which were offline)."

It said that only nine offices have reported problems with cameras but that the issue was being addressed. 

It said all other services such as collection of IDs, passports and processing of births, marriages and deaths online were available, and that people could collect documents from the offices where they applied for them. 

"The Department is thankful to citizens for their patience, and reiterates its apology for service interruptions."

The department also said the modernisation programme would assist with service delivery.

"In spite of current challenges, by March 2019, out of 411 front line offices, 193 were converted to use a fully digital process for issuing smart ID cards and secure passports. Fourteen (14) banks also operated during this period."

However, the department again said that thousands of documents still remain uncollected.

African News Agency