South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a phased end to the green barcoded ID book, committing to set a hard cutoff date after which it will no longer be recognised. The government is building an 'intelligent population register' with biometric data for every resident to underpin a new digital ID system. Impersonation fraud involving the green ID book has surged ~400% year-on-year, with criminals using AI to exploit weaknesses. An estimated 16 million South Africans still use the old book despite smart ID card rollouts. Home affairs has expanded smart ID services to 167 bank branches, with over 127,000 people already using the digital service. Additional measures include cracking down on misuse of Traffic Registration Numbers and anti-corruption enforcement within home affairs.
