700,000 IDs remain blocked as banks fear losing R17bn to fraud: Motsoaledi

Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the department of home affairs has been delaying unblocking more than 700,000 IDs, some suspected to be used in ID fraud, as banks warned they might lose R17bn in fraudulent transactions. 

The systematic blocking of IDs was in the spotlight this week after the Children’s Institute (CI) at the University of Cape Town took the department to court arguing the blocking had harsh consequences for children.

“Parents with blocked IDs are unable to register their children’s births or to help them get their own IDs. This leaves children undocumented for years, infringing on their rights to a name, nationality, and identity,” the organisation said in a statement.

Motsoaledi said the blocking of IDs was not done to punish people but as a precaution by officials when they encountered suspicious IDs on the system and wanted to prevent possible fraud. The reasons for blocking included:

• stolen IDs possibly used by another person;
• one person married to two people at the same time; and
• people with the same ID.

“Namibia was once a part of South Africa and after liberation the two countries shared records of Namibians who were transferred, but we still have 7,620 who were not transferred. We are made to believe they are living two lives and getting benefits as citizens in both countries,” he said. 

The minister said so far 1.8-million IDs have been unblocked but about 702,000 remained blocked and were under review and investigation.   

“We also wanted to unblock them, but the banks warned us that they have made a calculation that if we just jump and unblocked these IDs before the problems are resolved, they are likely to lose R17bn among themselves and it is not safe for the country.

“We are not being malicious and careless. If we become careless and the banks lose that much money, it affects the whole economy of the country,” he said. 

Motsoaledi said it was not difficult for those affected to have their IDs unblocked. He urged people to visit the nearest home affairs branch to have their fingerprints taken and the problem resolved.

“As soon as these people appear at home affairs and their issue is resolved, then the marker [blocking] is removed and they can move on with their lives. The problem is that they do not come to home affairs.”