Chairperson, this Bill is long overdue. Children in particular are experiencing serious problems without the provisions we are now making. Firstly, we are very pleased that the term "biometrics" now enters into the definition section. This opens up a variety of technological ways of identifying an individual.
Clause 2 amends section 7 of the principal Act. The Director-General is now authorised to supplement as well as rectify particulars incorrectly reflected in documents. This has to happen in consultation with the affected individuals.
In the case of any child born alive, parents or prescribed persons must register the child within 30 days. Officials should ask traditional authorities, midwives, clinics and those staffing maternity wards to help meet this requirement.
A very positive aspect of this Bill appears in clause 1 which amends section 11 of the principal Act. This Bill allows parents who conceived a child out of wedlock to amend the registration if they marry at any future point while the child is still a minor. This will have such a beneficial impact on the child. While it is a small measure, it has the potential to build families.
The Bill is also very progressive in another regard. The Director-General can register abandoned or orphaned children. If and when the parents of an abandoned child are found, the Director-General can amend the registration.
Individuals who lack a forename or a surname can now apply to correct that. Often parents give children forenames that bring misery on them. Now such an individual, either through his parents, or if he is of age, can remedy this and ask for an alteration of his or her forename.
The alteration of a surname is a little more complicated. The individual has to have a particularly good motivation to do so.
I have a word of caution, however, for the department. It may come under enormous pressure to rectify a mountain of changing particulars. I sincerely trust that the department will have the personnel and the technical capacity to process alterations swiftly and efficiently. A careful process of auditing must exist to protect the integrity of the system.
In life we have births and deaths, and funeral undertakers see death as business. Some, therefore, tend not to comply with legal requirements. Now any funeral undertaker who wants to register deaths can apply for registration and a designation number. Such an undertaker will have to comply with a number of legal requirements. The department has to monitor this rigorously right from the start.
Remoteness of location denies rural communities access to a variety of government services. For this very reason, many children are not born in hospitals because people live too far from them. This makes the registration process even more difficult. These are important concerns that we need to deal with urgently. Cope supports this Bill. [Applause.]