New-born babies to get free birth certificates within 30 days

Source: Mpumalanga News, 14/12/1015

MBOMBELA – In an attempt to reduce the late registrations of births
(LRB), home affairs will from January 1 next year introduce a new
programme which will allow new-born babies to be issued with free
birth certificates within 30 days.


The minister of the Department of Home Affairs, Mr Malusi Gigaba, said
civil registration is something which is taken for granted in
developed countries. People are born, usually in a hospital, they
receive a birth certificate as part of the routine administrative
processes before being discharged, and their citizenship is confirmed
as a routine matter.


"Many Africans are born, live and die without their existence and
citizenship status being acknowledged and recorded through a simple
birth record and accompanying certificate of birth. For a citizen to
fully access and exercise their rights, they must first be recognized
as a citizen," said Gigaba. The minister said late registration of
births presented risks. If the birth of a child is not registered
early, a person`s identity and citizenship status are at risk.


"If they are separated from their parents, for whatever reason, they
can find themselves literally separated from who they are, forced to
exist at the margins of society, unable to vote for the government of
their choice, or participate easily and meaningfully in the
economy.


In addition to these anti-developmental impacts, LRB creates an
opportunity for non-South Africans to fraudulently access South
African citizenship," he said.


In 2010 the president, Mr Jacob Zuma, signed the Birth and Death
Registration Amendment Act into law. Since then the department has
intensified its efforts to establish early birth registration and end
late registration.


"We have expanded online birth registration at hospitals, so that
people can register the birth of their children and receive unabridged
birth certificates before leaving the hospital. If we can register all
hospital births we will come that much closer to universal early birth
registration. It reduces the risk of a child`s identity and status
going unrecognised, secures our National Population Register by
drastically reducing opportunities for fraud and is convenient for
parents," he concluded.


The universal early birth registration aims to save parents having to
make a second trip to a home affairs office.

Recently the
department introduced online birth registration at 389 health
facilities. From January 1, 2016, registering births after 30 days
will be more costly.