A woman (62), from Nyazi location in Port St Johns, is desperately asking anyone who could assist her so that she could get her identity document.
Mafundisile Vongwe said she applied for an ID in 2019 but has still not received it.
She said when she went to check it she was apparently told that she does not appear on the system.
Vongwe depends on selling wood to get food because she cannot apply for an old age pension grant.
She says she is ‘stuck’ and does not know what to do anymore.
“I am living alone, since my children have passed away.
“I have only one child (left), who is in Durban. I am living a miserable life because I don’t have an ID. I can’t do anything about my life.
“It is painful when I see other people my age living better lives because they have their IDs. For me, it is not easy to go to Home Affairs because I am unemployed. The money I receive from selling wood is not enough for me to travel to town,” said Vongwe.
One of the community activists in the area, Mentweni Fikeni, said it was painful to see this woman struggling because she does not have an ID. He said they were trying by all means to assist her but it was hard.
“It kills my heart to see an old woman struggling,” said Fikeni. He added that they went to this department recently and were told that they should bring the death certificate of Vongwe’s grandmother.
“This certificate should be done by our traditional leader, so we are still waiting for it.”
The spokesperson for Department of Home Affairs, Gcinile Mabulu, advised her to apply for another ID. He said it would be hard for them to check it on the system if she does not know her ID number.
“If we are using her date of birth, still we will not be sure if it’s hers because you would find that there are many people who have the same name and surname on our system.
“I would advise her to visit our office and do another one. She can call me when she is in our offices so that I may try to assist,” said Mabulu.
