LOOK: 103-year-old gogo FINALLY receives smart ID card
Malesela Mashilo, from Letebejane Village, celebrated her 103rd birthday with a visit from Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi.
On Monday 19 September, Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi visited the Letebejane Village outside Lebowakgomo in Limpopo to hand over smart ID cards to the elderly. Malesela Mashilo, a 103-year-old woman, was one of many who finally received their ID cards after a long wait.
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LIMPOPO RESIDENTS STRUGGLE TO ACCESS HOME AFFAIRS
According to the SABC, residents living in Letebejane Village have complained about travelling hundreds of kilometres to visit a Home Affairs branch. One resident complained about spending lots of money to apply for a birth certificate for their child.
“I spent a lot of money travelling and I have to ask for a day off work,” said the resident.
“I have been trying to change my children’s surname from their mother’s to mine. They told me it takes six months but now it’s going up to a year, I am frustrated.”
AARON MOTSOALEDI HANDS OVER SMART IDS TO THE ELDERLY
Home Affairs minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, visited Letebejane Village to hand over smart IDs to the elderly including 103-year-old Malesela Mashilo.
She reportedly applied for the document approximately two years ago and to mark her 103rd birthday, Mashilo received a special visit from Minister Motsoaledi.
“We are happy for gogo. It is an honour that the minister visited. We pray that gogo lives even longer,” said Mashilo’s sister-in-law, Refelwe Mashilo.
TAKE A LOOK
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HOME AFFAIRS HOPES TO DECREASE DOWNTIME
As per a 2021 BusinessTech report, Aaron Motsoaledi said it had partnered with major banks to resolve two major issues, one being the downtime in the department.
“The intention is to increase the number of the sites to 70 once the Public-Private-Partnership Agreements are signed with the banks,” said Motsoaledi.
The partnership with banks is meant to reduce long queues and to allow South Africans to apply for passports and identity cards online.
Take a look at where you can apply for your smart ID and passport and major banks.
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