Staff Reporter
A NEW law that provides for the registration of vital events in a person’s life, from birth to death, has been gazetted.
The “Civil Registration and Identification Act” (Act 13 of 2024) combines two old laws — the Births, Marriages and Deaths Registration Act of 1963 and the Identification Act of 1996 — along with some provisions of the Aliens Act of 1937.
According to Etienne Maritz, the Executive Director of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Act 13 of 2024 provides for the notification and registration of births, marriages, divorces, and deaths, as well as the management of identity-related matters such as name changes, age changes, the issuance of identity documents, categories of people who may be issued IDs, and the sharing of information from the Civil Register, among other provisions.
The Civil Registration and Identification Bill was first tabled in Parliament in June 2023 and was later withdrawn to incorporate input from Members of Parliament. The Bill was tabled again in August last year and eventually passed. Subsequently, it received presidential assent on 13 December and was gazetted on 30 December 2024.
Maritz added that the Act is not yet in force. “Section 93 of the Act stipulates that it will come into operation on a date determined by the Minister through a notice in the Gazette. Comprehensive regulations are required before this Act can come into force. In the meantime, the Births, Marriages and Deaths Registration Act of 1963, the Identification Act of 1996, and some parts of the Aliens Act of 1937 remain applicable,” he said.
