Reading the original 2013 notice announcing South Africa’s new smart ID card is a reminder that government can’t meet even the least ambitious of deadlines.
When former home affairs minister Naledi Pandor first launched South Africa’s smart ID card project in 2013, the plan was to replace the old green ID book in short order.Her exact wording was “at least within three years from the effective date of this notice, or soon thereafter”.
Naturalised citizens faced a similar problem, with a handful receiving invitation letters from the minister to apply for a smart ID. “In order to avoid a rush, applicants will be invited to our offices in stages, according to their dates of birth,” she continued.The broader public was only invited to apply in 2016.
“We must stress that it will take between six and eight years before all South Africans have Smart ID Cards,” she stated.However, Pandor didn’t remain minister another year, let alone eight, with former president Jacob Zuma shuffling her to the Science and Technology portfolio in May 2014.Former Department of Home Affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni heralded this as a success.
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