He anticipates that the results of this work should be felt by the IEC by the time of the next local government elections.

"Secondly, by the time of the next national and provincial elections in 2029, we want to have a fully-functional digital ID system.

"As announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address last month, Home Affairs is hard at work to develop the infrastructure required for a secure digital identity platform.

"This will enable not only enable South Africans to securely store their IDs and other official documents on a smartphone, but will also provide a verifiable credential for each citizen and permanent resident," Schreiber said. "This will enable Home Affairs to virtually certify the identity of every person in the country, based on their unique facial or fingerprint biometrics."

"I want to emphasise that this is a sequential process: first will come access to Smart IDs for all, then will come digital ID.

"The third reform that is particularly relevant to the IEC, are enhancements to the population register. A new National Identification Registration is on my desk as we speak.

"This Bill will reform the population register into a modern, digital-first instrument that will record the presence and biometrics of all people who are in our country."

The minister said that for too long, they’ve used a National Population Register that failed to adequately record the biometric information of everyone in South Africa.

He explained that the failure to have a so-called 'single view' of all people in the country is a major contributing factor to the risks associated with illegal immigration, including elections, because it enables foreigners to sojourn in the country without their biometrics being detected and stored.

"This reform will be coupled with the Electronic Travel Authorisation we aim to begin rolling out this year, which will eventually require every person who enters South Africa to provide their biometrics for capturing in a modern, new population register.

"Finally, the work of the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel continues apace. Once that process is concluded, I will table recommendations to Parliament that may result in further reforms aimed at bolstering the accountability of our electoral system."

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