Minister of Home Affairs, Naledi Pandor, today, Friday, 4 January 2013 visited Khayelitsha where she issued temporary identity documents (IDs) to victims of the recent fire disaster in Khayelitsha. Over 3 000 (three thousand) victims residing in 900 informal dwellings were affected when a fire raged on New Year's Day.

In this regard, most of the residents lost their IDs among other possessions during the disaster. Home Affairs, realising that without basic and enabling documents such as ID's, the lives of those affected will grind to a halt, decided to intervene to make the burden of those affected lighter with the issuance of temporary IDs.

Accordingly, the Director-General Mkuseli Apleni waived the normal fees as required by law, for the issuance of second IDs R140 (one hundred and forty rand), temporary IDs R20 (twenty rand) and birth certificates R20 (twenty rand) as part of our social responsibility and restoration of the dignity of those affected by the fire disaster.

Minister Pandor was supported in the visit to Khayelitsha by Home Affairs Western Cape Provincial Manager, Yusuf Simons and a team of home Affairs and South African Social Security Agency officials.