Don't panic about IDs - govt

Pretoria - People who apply for an ID book for the first time will still receive one free of charge and will only pay if their book was lost or mislaid, the department of home affairs said on Thursday.

"There is no need to panic (about the tariff increases),"spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said.

"The idea is to encourage South Africans to value their IDs, in the same way you would value your bank card, drivers licence and other important documents," he said.

This came after an announcement by Director-General Mkuseli Apleni last week that there would be tariff increases for IDs, passports and other documents provided by the department.

The reissuing of an ID and temporary ID certificate would increase from R20 to R140. A standard passport would cost R400, up from R190.

Mamoepa said the sharp increase in the passport price was due to improved security features that made it difficult to reproduce the document.

People who changed their surnames after marriage would not pay for a new ID book.

"In cases of humanitarian crises... like fire, floods or other natural disasters, Minister Dlamini-Zuma will waive the costs... people will have their IDs issued free of charge," Mamoepa said.

If details were incorrectly captured by officials in the department, a person would not have to pay for a re-issue.

Mamoepa said the department remained committed to providing quality services to the people as part of their constitutional mandate.