NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 219 / CW316E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 11 May 2012
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 12 of 2012
Mr D Joseph (DA-WC) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether, with reference to her speech on her Departmental Budget Vote
on 25 April 2012 that, internationally the trend is towards
establishing integrated identity systems that can enable faster,
accessible, more efficient and secure services across Government and
Private Sector, her Department has conducted research to support this
claim; if not, why not; if so, (a) which (i) first world and (ii)
African countries have implemented a similar Smart Card Identity
Document system and (b) what are the further relevant details;
(2) whether the findings of the research showed that ID fraud has
decreased since the implementation of a new ID system; if not, what is
the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) whether the new Smart Card ID will (a) be used for voting purposes
during elections and (b) encourage the establishment of a new
electronic voting system; if not, what is the position in this regard;
if so, what are the relevant details in each case?
CW316E
REPLY:
(1)(a)&(b) Yes. The Department of Home Affairs has conducted a number of
studies aimed at identifying the challenges inherent in the current
Identity system, including the current Identity Document,
benchmarking the Republic of South Africa with other countries and
investigating best practices and viable solutions, including systems
which utilise Smart Cards.
A number of first world countries apply similar Smart Card Systems,
for example, Germany had existing ID Card Systems and has in 2010
launched plans to roll out an advanced Smart Card while Serbia,
Latvia and Bahrain are amongst the many countries that have
initiated national projects to establish such systems. Tanzania and
Botswana are examples of African countries utilising a Smart Card
System or intending to use one whilst Brazil and India has already
begun their pilot projects and are rolling out the cards.
2) Yes. The reliability and validity of Smart Card Systems are well
proven. Digital Signature Technology has been shown to offer far
better protection against a full range of security threats â from
careless storage of user passwords to sophisticated system hacks.
The same systems enable more secure, efficient and cost effective
services.
3) With regard to the use of the Smart Card for voting purposes, the
Department has begun engaging with potential users of the Smart Card
but at this stage it would be premature to provide further details.