Pretoria – Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has called on parents to register their children within 30 days of birth.
Presenting his department’s Budget Vote in Cape Town, on Tuesday, Minister Gigaba said registering the birth of children ensures that the child’s identity and status is recognised and safeguarded in the National Population Register (NPR).
“Participating in illegal schemes to extend citizenship to people who do not deserve it devalues our hard-won citizenship, undermining our national development, security and social cohesion,” he said.
Minister Gigaba said his department, in conjunction with the police and other security agencies, will continue to combat identity fraud and identity-related corruption, fighting both fraudsters and colluders with the same tenacity.
“Citizenship is our precious birth-right, and deserves our protection and respect,” he said.
Last year, the department embarked on the NPR campaign to encourage and assist all South African citizens without Birth Certificates, Identity Documents or Identity Numbers to acquire these documents so that they are registered in the NPR.
According to the department, a child registered as born out of wedlock, whose parents later marry after the birth, may be re-registered as born within wedlock.
Form BI-59 must be completed and submitted with proof of the marriage to any Home Affairs domestic office.
Both parents must sign the said form in the presence of a Commissioner of Oaths. – SAnews.gov.za
