Home Affairs probes illegal sale of birth certificates to foreigners
Reports have emerged that mothers in the Western Cape have sold their children’s birth certificates.
Picture: Bruno Curly via Pexels
John Maytham (in for Lester Kiewit on CapeTalk) speaks with Department of Home Affairs spokesperson Siyabulela Qoza.
Listen below:
The Department of Home Affairs has received troubling reports that birth certificates are being sold.
Staff in Mitchells Plain raised the alarm bell, saying they believe the birth certificates are being sold to foreigners so they can register their children as citizens.
“Our biggest concern is that the birth certificate already has an ID number, which means that the person that has the birth certificate can access services that they do not qualify for.”
- Siyabulela Qoza, spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs
These cases have come to light when 18-year-olds have attempted to apply for ID documents but are unable to produce an original birth certificate.
The Department of Home Affairs is conducting a national investigation to assess the extent of this practice and ensure it is stopped.
Qoza states that only three cases have been flagged in Mitchells Plain so far, but they are taking the matter very seriously.
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