Hon Deputy Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Deputy Minister Malusi Gigaba, chairperson of our select committee the hon Rasmeni, hon members of the NCOP, later this month on 18 July 2009 the people of our country and indeed the world will be celebrating the birthday of the icon and hero of our people, Nelson Mandela.
Frantz Fanon reminds us that: "Each generation must, out of relative obscurit, discover its mission, fulfill it, or betray it." Nelson Mandela's generation indeed fulfilled their mandate and laid a strong foundation for building our democracy with a common destiny and identity. Home Affairs will indeed be joining the people of our country in whatever we do to mark the launch of Nelson Mandela Day.
May I also join the people of our country and the world in congratulating the Brazilian national team on its deserved win of the tournament, as well as all the participants. The success of the Confederations Cup communicates a clear message that our country and its people and indeed the people of Africa stand ready to deliver a world-class 2010 Fifa World Cup.
The Constitution of our country has entrusted our department with a dual mandate. In this regard, we are the custodians of the identity of all South African citizens, critical in which is the issuance of birth, marriage and death certificates; identity documents and passports; and citizenship and permanent residence certificates.
The full spectrum of ID management goes beyond mere issuance of secure documents; it encompasses the safe maintenance and archiving of biometric and demographic records of citizens and persons who have been permitted to reside in South Africa.
The national population register and related records of births, marriages and deaths constitute a national resource that is part of our common cultural heritage. It plays a crucial part in defining who we are as a nation and in building a democratic and inclusive society by enabling citizens to access their constitutional rights. We have to ensure an accurate and comprehensive national population register as a matter of national priority. For this to be achieved, there must be a national effort that involves every government department, all institutions and all South Africans including your good selves, hon members.
The first step is to tighten up the registration of births and to include the mother's name and ID number on the birth certificate. This is crucial because the birth certificate is the basic document that enables people to be in the population register and apply for IDs and passports. To this end we shall run a campaign to register all children from 0 to 15 years old by the end of 2011. After 2011 we shall ensure that babies are registered before their first birthday and do away with late registration of birth, which is the main entry point for those who want to access our documents fraudulently.
Working in partnership with the Department of Education we shall also run a campaign over the next two years to proactively ensure that all youths from 16 years old obtain an ID. We would also like to delink the capturing of fingerprints from the ID application process to ensure the security of our enabling documents. This will also facilitate the faster processing of the