Johannesburg - Minister of Home Affairs, Naledi Pandor, today, Monday 4 March 2013, visited the Netcare Parklane Hospital, in Parktown, Johannesburg, where she issued unabridged birth certificates, on the spot and free of charge, to parents of newly born babies, as part of national efforts to secure the integrity of the National Population Register.

Minister Pandor handed the first unabridged certificates to two couples, (Mr Silulame  Libalale and Ms Kuhle  Judith Qekeleshe)  and (Mr and Mrs Stanley Nkosinathi and  Patrticia Dludla) respectively.

Minister Pandor’s visit to the Netcare Parklane Hospital came  within the context of the announcement earlier this year that, with effect from Monday 4 March 2013, the Department of Home Affairs, will end the practice of the issuance of abridged birth certificate in favour of unabridged birth certificates, to parents of new born babies.

The issuance of the unabridged birth certificate will minimize turnaround times for the production of such certificates while ensuring  a speedy, efficient and accurate service delivery by the Department of Home Affairs to the citizenry. Simultaneously the unabridged birth certificate will be more secure and reliable and will contain apart from information of the new born babies, details of both parents including their ID numbers.

The issuance of the unabridged birth certificates should be viewed  also within the context of  national efforts aimed at the creation of a paperless home affairs department in the long term. This will be enhanced by the issuance of only one certificate per birth in contrast to the previous practice of issuing two certificates

These latest and improved service delivery efforts to the citizenry are enhanced by the IT Modernisation Project and are a consequence of the review  of the Birth and Death Act of 1992 and the Citizenship Act of 1995 undertaken by the department which resulted in the promulgation of the  South African Citizenship Amendment Act of 2010, whose provisions are now being implemented.

For more information contact Lunga at 082-566-0446 or Manusha at 082-389-3587

Department of Home Affairs, 909 Arcadia, Street, Pretoria

04 March 2013