Close to 300,000 ID books have not been collected from various Home Affairs offices throughout the country and at least 40,000 of those are in Eastern Cape.
The Minister Home Affairs Siyabonga Cwele was visiting King Williamstown on Wednesday, to address stakeholders on the non-collection of IDs.
He urged regional municipalities and the two metros to find ways of dealing speedily with the backlog before the final voter registration at the weekend.
Unclaimed ID's:
Nelson Mandela Bay Metro: 13 000
OR Tambo region: 11 000
Buffalo City Metro: 6 000
Cwele said many people apply for ID's and then migrate to other parts of the country, or they work and cannot get off to go stand in a queue. He added that many were unemployed and do not have the means to collects.
He said some of the ID books date back to 2014.
Cwele said ward councillors are in a better position to hand out ID books to the people and that officials should share strategies that had worked in other parts of the country.
Matatielle Municipality Speaker Nomasom Mshuqwana said that in Alfred Nzo region, for example, they used tribal courts to distribute ID books.
"After noticing the slow pace of collecting smart ID cards we brought together stakeholders such as the traditional leaders, Home Affairs and SAPS (South African Police Services).
"We sent out notices to schools for the learners to inform parents about dates where ID books will be delivered at a particular tribal court," Mshuqwana said.
She said some people died before they could collect their Identity Documents while those with green barcoded ID books didn't see the urgency to collect smart cards.
Cwele said two mobile offices would be rolled out to cover the entire province.
- African News Agency (ANA)
