The Department of Home Affairs is probing allegations that mothers are selling their children’s original birth certificates to foreigners after several instances came to lights where 18-year olds tried to apply for ID documents and couldn’t produce their original birth certificates.

The first cases came to light in Cape Town when the manager for Home Affairs in Mitchells Plain, Shereen Meyer, mentioned it in a community meeting attended by stakeholders and residents.

Meyer, confirmed to Weekend Argus that an internal investigation was underway after the matter came to the department’s attention when several learners applying for their identity documents (IDs) in matric were unable to produce birth certificates.

“Our citizenship is not to be sold,” said Meyer firmly during the meeting, warning of the seriousness of such offences.

The Department of Home Affairs since confirmed it is investigating the claims. Siyabulela Qoza, spokesperson for the department, said they were aware of three such cases and were probing whether more instances may have occurred. He also confirmed that, from what they have seen, the incidents do not appear to be stemming from the office- referencing that there is no involvement of employees.

“We found that the mothers are selling their kids birth certificates without the knowledge of Home Affairs, especially when they come for replacements – and they get questioned.

“We do not feel comfortable that this is happening and will launch a national investigation, based on what we are able to find we will determine what will need to happen.”

South Africans have been the victims of identity fraud since the dawn of democracy when illegal immigrants tried to obtain South African ID’s, birth cerficates, marriage certificates and other documents in a bid to stay in the country legally. This sometimes happened with the help of corrupt Home Affairs officials. There were instances where women were duped into marriages or discovered that they were married  when their ID’s were stolen or cloned. This is not only a national problem, but an international problem as was reported before when the The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned that identity fraud and theft had become the No 1 white collar crime in America.

Qoza also reassured that there are no instances where two people share one identity document.

The alleged selling of children’s birth certificates has drawn fierce condemnation from public officials, including Mitchells Plain constituency head Ricardo Mackenzie, who labelled the claims “disgusting.”

“It is disgusting that mommies are doing this. What makes it even more sad, because now the children have to suffer,” he said. Mackenzie added that he would be writing to the Minister of Home Affairs to demand urgent intervention and explore steps to address the issue and prevent future occurrences.

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has also responded to the revelations. While its Metro South District office has not received official reports regarding such cases, WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond acknowledged that delays in the processing of IDs and other documentation remained a challenge for many families.

“The identity number of a learner is a compulsory field as per the National Examination System,” Hammond said. “Learners are encouraged to apply for their Identity Documents (IDs) in Grade 10. In the interim, the birth certificate number must be used.”She added that schools are urged to guide parents on how to apply for IDs through the DHA.

In instances where learners cannot obtain an ID in time for their final exams, schools can support by providing temporary photo identification and registering learners using their date of birth, along with a unique examination number.

The investigation is expected to cast a wider net in the coming weeks, as the DHA probes whether this alleged practice extends beyond the three confirmed cases.

tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za

Weekend Argus

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