NATIONAL NEWS - All citizens banking with ABSA, First National Bank, Nedbank and Standard Bank, can now apply for Smart ID cards and passports.
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba on Wednesday said when they launched the eHomeAffairs portal, only citizens between 30 and 35 years old could use this innovative platform to apply for their Smart ID cards and passports, online.
“The system is now open to all citizens who bank with these four participating banks. Currently 12 branches of these banks are connected to the system in Gauteng, with one branch in Cape Town.
While most of these branches are centralised in Gauteng, plans are apace to enter into a public private partnership with participating banks, hopefully to be finalised in October, to increase the footprint in the provinces.
The steering committee wherein home affairs and the banks are represented is monitoring the implementation and performance of the system. “It was in this context that we were able to identify gaps in the system and speedily recommended upgrades to the live capture system,” Gigaba said.
