Cape Town – Two Cape Town families are struggling to get by without their IDs which they need for all essential registrations.
In Kraaifontein, 27-year-old mother-of-three Dorothy Nortje says her life is at a standstill as she does not have an ID and her children are struggling to get birth certificates.
Nortje said that she was told to bring her mother's ID, Aida, who abandoned her when she was about 11-years-old and does not know where to begin searching for her.
“When my mother left me, I didn't have a birth certificate, so I had to first apply for that in 2019.
“With the help of my aunt, who is my mother's sister and is my primary caregiver, I managed to get it in Graaff-Reinet, and then I proceeded to apply for an ID.
“My aunt took the initiative and assisted me with the application because the Home Affairs requested someone who is 10 years older than I am from my family to assist with the application.
“The process was done and I thought I was going to finally have an ID, but last month, I got a message requesting my father's ID because they needed to link me to him in order to complete the application.
“I looked for him and sent it through. Then three weeks later, I got another correspondence from the home affairs saying that they need my mother's ID.”
Nortje said that she felt defeated because she does not know where her mother is.
“This has been emotionally draining because I cannot get a decent job and my children aged nine, six, and one-year-old cannot get child support grant due to documentation issues.
“I even struggled with getting my nine-year-old into school this year because of this. The other two children are at home with no identification and no school.”
Anyone who can assist Dorothy is kindly requested to call the Kraaifontein Community Advisory Services on 071 820 1993 or 063 397 7349 or email [email protected]
In Nyanga, 51-year-old Nopink Ndongeni who lives in the Panatyipi informal settlement, KTC, with her partner, 65-year-old Siyabulela Bambiso, said she was removed from the Department of Home Affairs’ system as she shares ID details with another person.
Her children also cannot apply for their ID books because their mother does not have an ID.
The Department of Home Affairs did not reply to several requests for comment by deadline yesterday.
Cape Times