BY Obakeng Maje

Johannesburg-Minister of Home Affairs Naledi Pandor announced that smart cards will be in use from August 2013.

The Home Affairs is doing away with green bar-coded ID book. According to South Africa Police Service(SAPS) and statement received from Home Affairs department, fraudsters have made life difficult for ID documents holders as the steal abiding-citizens IDs and commit fraud using their IDs.

“We want to do away with green barcoded IDs and the new ones will be effective from August 2013” Naledi Pandor said.

Police arrested seven suspects on wednesday after they were committing fraud using other people’s ID numbers and birth certificates” she continues.

Last week Northern Cape police arrested five suspects who were opening accounts using false IDs in retail shops around Kimberley.

Minister Naledi Pandor addressed the residents of Barkly West and encourages women to register their children for birth certificates.

“The new cards will be very difficult for criminals to duplicate. It will have your fingerprints and your face embedded on it unlike current ones where your picture is pasted that is why we call them smartcards” Pandor said.

According to Home Affairs minister, the smartcards are more efficient and save.

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