STATEMENT BY MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS ON ID's

Issued by: The Ministry of Home Affairs

MEDIA RELEASE BY THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS: MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI: 31 OCTOBER 1995

Following discussions between the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), President Mandela and the Minister of Home Affairs during the past weekend, it was decided that all persons who have participated in the April 1994 lection with a temporary voters' card and who have not yet obtained an identity document are nevertheless regarded as permanent residents of the R.S.A. and should be afforded an opportunity to apply for such a document.

As far as mineworkers are concerned who fall in this category, the Department of Home Affairs will, in close co-operation with NUM, establish -

• the personal particulars of those mineworkers who had obtained temporary voters' cards for the April 1994 election, and have not yet received an identity document under the Identification Act, 1986;
• obtain from those persons referred to above, whose applications for identity documents cannot be traced in the Department, new applications; and
• exempt these persons from the requirement to be in possession of a permit for permanent residence in terms of section 28(2) of the Aliens Control act, 1991.

Those similarly affected who are not mineworkers, may approach their nearest office of the Department of Home Affairs to have their applications for identity documents duly processed by the Department.

This process must be finalised by 31 March 1996.

The Department wishes to point out, however, that persons who had qualified in terms of section 15 of the Electoral Act, 1993, and who had been issued with identity documents, a well as those who had been issued with temporary voters' cards and have since obtained identity documents, became fully fledged permanent residents of the Republic of South Africa.

The modus operandi followed in respect of applications for temporary voters' cards was -

• to obtain an application for an identity document from the applicant; and
• to exempt the applicant from the requirements of a permit for permanent residences under the Aliens Control Act, 1991, once it has been established, as required by section 15(3)(c), of the Electoral Act, 1993, that the applicant had entered the R.S.A before 13 June 1986, was ordinarily resident in the country since that date and is not regarded as a prohibited person,

whereafter a temporary voters' card was issued.

All these applications for identity documents were supposed to be forwarded to the Department of Home Affairs for processing subsequent to the April 1994 election, in order to issue identity documents to the applicants.

Apparently a number of these applications did not reach the Department. In addition large numbers of identity documents pro- cessed as a result of these applications, have never been collected from offices of the Department of Home Affairs by the applicants.

The Department of Home Affairs will do everything within its power to facilitate the speedy finalisation of this process.

ENQUIRIES: HENNIE MEYER TEL: 012-314 8613