Pretoria – A power failure at Home Affairs has disrupted the clearing and issuing of ID cards and passports.
“This will mean that all Home Affairs offices in the country are unable to issue Smart ID Cards, passports, and Temporary Identity Certificates,” the Department of Home Affairs said Tuesday night.
The department said it “would like to inform citizens and clients that it has experienced a power failure at its back office in Pretoria”.
Home Affairs explained that all applications that are “live capture” like Smart ID Cards and passports cannot be issued without first being cleared by the back office.
“The back office has got a generator and four Uninterrupted Power Supplies (UPS) which work as back-up,” the department said.
“Unfortunately the power damage also affected the UPS when the generator tried to kick off.
“This will mean that all Home Affairs offices in the country are unable to issue Smart ID Cards, passports and Temporary Identity Certificates.”
Home Affairs said the only services that are not affected and will continue being offered relate to the registration of births, marriages, and deaths.
“Technicians are working around the clock to ensure that services are speedily restored. We are hoping that they may be restored by tomorrow,” said Home Affairs.
“The Department apologises to clients and appeals for their patience.”
