Minister of Home Affairs Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has facilitated the process of distributing Identity Documents to some individuals in Ganyesa in the North West. These individuals were previously featured in a story by the SABC, where it was revealed that they had not received any assistance from the Home Affairs Department in Ganyesa.
Motsoaledi says his visit in Ganyesa was a proactive step towards addressing this issue and ensuring that these individuals have the necessary documentation.
Conducting an oversight visit in the Kagisano Molopo Local Municipality, Motsoaledi engaged with community members about processes that need to be followed when applying for different documents in the department. Through this intervention, those who could not obtain IDs were assisted.
“It so happened that I have a programme which started in August 2022 where I go to villages, especially rural villages, because those problems that they mentioned there are very common for rural villages, for various reasons. And some of them are caused by lack of knowledge of procedures in government. That’s why I started in 2022, going to several municipalities, royal families, meeting chiefs, councillors, ministers of religion, social workers to brief them about procedures, so that they can understand,” says Motsoaledi.
Some beneficiaries are delighted.
“I’m so happy to receive my child’s birth certificate because it was needed at school.”
“I received my child’s birth certificate. I am very happy that I got it. Now I’m going to submit my child’s ID number at school and apply for social grants.”
Sixty-year-old John Sisinogang is one the residents who could not access government services. He is unemployed and survives by doing odd jobs in the village.
“I was told that I used different names and for the mere fact that I have two IDs, one with my father’s surname and one with my mother’s surname. Now I decided to use my mother’s surname and I’m told to wait two weeks to get my ID.”
Following their outcry, residents of Phaposane Village managed to receive services from other government departments as well.
Video: Residents struggle to apply for IDs in Ganyesa, North West
