Rustenburg - Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba handed over birth certificates to several mothers of newborn babies at the Tlhabane Health Centre in Rustenburg on Friday.
Gigaba said registering a child’s birth at hospital ensured parents met the legal requirement of registration within 30 days. It would also save mothers the cost of travelling to home affairs offices and queueing to register their children.
“It ensures that the moment they walk out of the hospital their nationality is known their citizenship is guaranteed. It also helps us to protect the identity records of the child so that nobody could at a later stage steal the identity of the child and use it for whatever purposes.”
He said early registration of birth would enable the government to plan properly.
“The department of basic education would know that six children were born at this hospital and in two years they would likely go to early childhood development. In seven years, they will start Grade 1 …,” said Gigaba.
He said a strict verification process would apply, should parents attempt to register their children more than 30 days after birth.
African National Congress deputy general secretary Jessie Duarte, who was in the area as part of the ANC 104th birthday celebrations, joined Gigaba in celebrating the births of the newborns with their mothers. Duarte said in 20 years time the babies would become leaders.
ANA
* Use IOL’s Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.