Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has announced changes to be implemented when collecting passports in a bid to clamp down on fraud, reports The Citizen.

Briefing the media yesterday on the employment of 10 000 youth for digitisation of records, passport security and transit visas, Motsoaledi said the South African passport had been in the news for the wrong reasons.

In March, 29 people were arrested for alleged fraud, corruption, contravention of the Immigration Act and possession of suspected fraudulent documents at a Home Affairs office in Krugersdorp.

According to Motsoaledi , a passport can only be collected strictly from the office where it was applied for, and only the person who applied for that passport can collect it by activating it through a fingerprint.

‘This is, however, nothing new. This is a method that is being used to collect Smart ID cards,’ said Motsoaledi.

Passport collection had been exempted from the rules because many travellers found themselves in a hurry to travel, while others, especially in the business world and other big institutions, do not always have time to collect their passports.

‘Unfortunately, this privilege is now being taken away,’ said Motsoaledi.

For minor children, their parents or guardians who helped them apply for a passport will be the only ones allowed to collect it and activate it with their fingerprints.

Full report in The Citizen