THE Mekaling MP, Thabiso Lekitla, has tabled a private members bill seeking to amend the Identity Cards (IDs) validity period. This is because the government doesn’t have the funds to renew thousands of IDs that have expired. The Ministry of Home Affairs has admitted that its backlog of IDs is mounting as it struggles to raise funds. This has left thousands stranded because IDs are mandatory when applying for college, passports, jobs, bursaries and other services.
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Lekitla believes the stopgap measure is to extend the validity of the expired IDs while the government finds the resources to sort out the crisis. His Bill has been referred to the Social Cluster for fine-tuning.
“The issue of the unavailability of the identity cards hinders even children who need to apply for schools,” Lekitla said in his presentation in parliament on Monday.
He pleaded with the members to support his motion as it will help many people.
He was seconded by the Makhaleng MP, Mootsi Lehata, who said it took him many months to register his Vodacom sim card because he did not have a valid ID.
“Some people cannot get their insurance claims paid due to this problem. We want it to end,” Lehata said.
The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) leader Mothetjoa Metsing pointed out that the unavailability of identity cards and passports is a crisis.
He says it’s costly to have IDs that are renewed.
“We cannot afford to change those documents every time because it is costly.”
“The process is expensive,” Metsing said.
“Even South Africa thought of using smart cards,” he said.
“But even smart cards require one to go and update their picture.”
The Lithoteng MP, Rethabile Letlailana, said he supports the motion to amend the identity cards regulation to be suitable for Basotho.
“This crisis needs an intervention like this,” Letlailana said.
He pointed out that they were hoping that the documents would be available by now as life is not easy without them.
He recalled receiving a call from one Lesotho citizen who works in South Africa telling him that she could not find a job because she did not have a passport.
Letlailana said some people struggle to get their loved ones discharged from hospitals due to the identity cards unavailability.
“We know that the government does not need these extensions, their children are schooling abroad and they have the IDs and passports,” he said.
Staff Reporter
