Durban - As part of its fight against long queues, the Department of Home Affairs has announced the rolling out of some of its services to more banks.
Speaking during a Portfolio Committee meeting, the department said currently there are 27 bank branches which are operational and available to service clients requiring DHA services.
ID smart cards and passports can be applied for at FNB, Absa, Discovery, Investec, Nedbank and Standard Banks.
"The department envisages to roll out to a further 43 sites once the partnership agreements are signed. In the interim while discussing options with SITA. The banks have agreed to extend the pilot period to March 31, 2023 and we are envisaging that we would have signed the agreements with all the banks before that date," the department said.
The DHA has also rolled out mobile units to each province. Currently there are 106 units across the country with four units at the DHA's head office for special projects.
"So far 126 202 smart ID card applications were processed through mobile units in the 2021/2022 financial year while 111 958 were collected during the first and second quarters of the current financial year. The plan is to procure as many mobile units in order to reach out to identified service points for those citizens who are not able to visit home affairs offices as per the DHA Access Model," the department added.
The DHA said provinces have full deployment plans on the usage and functionality of mobile units with the intention to service areas where there is smaller footprint, including rural areas.
Bank branches currently offering DHA services:
Western Cape
FNB Greenpoint
Standard Bank Canal Walk
Standards Bank Promenade Mall
Nedbank St George's Mall
Limpopo
FNB Burgersfort
KwaZulu-Natal
Standard Bank Kingsmead
FNB Cornubia
Mpumalanga
Nedbank Nelspruit
Eastern Cape
Absa Greenacres
Standard Bank Newton Park
Gauteng
FNB Bank City JHB
FNB Centurion Lifestyle
FNB The Grove Mall
FNB The Glen
FNB Sandton
Nedbank Arcadia
Nedbank Constantia Kloof
Nedbank Rivonia
Absa Centurion Lifestyle
Absa Sandton Mall
Absa Keywest Mall
Discovery Bank Sandton
Investec Sandton
Standard Bank Centurion
Standard Bank Killarney Mall
Standard Bank Simmonds Street JHB
Standard Bank Jubilee Mall
In the Northern Cape, a pilot project is underway at the Standard Bank at Kathu Mall
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