Bungling by the Department of Home Affairs has left a 10-year-old girl and her 18-month-old cousin without birth certificates, depriving them of access to social security grants.
The children's guardian and grandfather, Zolani Hermans has been struggling to get the department to do what is right and issue the children’s birth certificates.
Both children were born at a Cofimvaba hospital in the Eastern Cape, but later moved to stay with the grandparents in Mfuleni, Cape Town.
The family applied for a birth certificate in 2019 for the child but was instead issued a notice of birth form.
"We were told that we would have to present it wherever a birth certificate would be required as proof of identity. But it's not accepted when applying for a social grant. At school my granddaughter is not able to take part in sports activities as participation in competitions requires a birth certificate," said Hermans.
The Children's Institute at UCT, which assists families to obtain social grants and birth certificates, said its Legal Resources Project was dealing with 200 similar cases in the Western Cape.
Senior researcher Paula Proudlock said an analysis the institute conducted in 2018 based on Stats SA databases showed an estimate of 500 000 children without birth certificates in South Africa.
The researchers also found that over 80% of the children were entitled to South African citizenship, while 20% were foreign nationals.
"The majority were poor and black African. Children under (the age of) one were more likely than older children to not have a birth certificate.
"Children without birth certificates were more likely to be excluded from social grants and health care services than children with birth certificates," said Proudlock.
She also said by 2023 the number was likely to have increased due to the delays in birth registration caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the reduced Home Affairs services since 2020.
"Austerity budgeting is also affecting the ability of Home Affairs to render services to meet the demand.
"The data is not yet available to tell us how many children do not have birth certificates in 2023, but it's likely to be much higher than the 2018 number," Proudlock added.
The Department of Basic Education’s data showed that in 2020 around 700 000 learners aged five to 21, were without birth certificates, and in 2021 the numbers rose to one million.
Proudlock said although South Africa had made significant progress in improving early birth registration since 1994, every year there were still "approximately 200 000 infants" who were born but not registered within a year of their birth.
Hermans said he was also sent from pillar to post with the late registration of his 18 month-old grandson, whose mother died in 2021.
"We were advised to enlist the help of a social worker. In August 2022 she promised to look into the matter and send her colleagues to our home to assess and verify the information. We have been waiting for them since then," he said.
Home Affairs tends to require a Children’s Court order in such cases which means that the relative needs to get help from a social worker.
Proudlock said social workers were now a scarce resource and had high case loads and limited access to cars.
"As a result, the services from social workers take many years to be completed, if ever,“ she added.
Proudlock also said despite a High Court and Constitutional Court judgment obliging Home Affairs to allow unmarried fathers to register the birth of their children without the mother being documented or present, Home Affairs was still not allowing unmarried fathers to register.
"In most cases they request a paternity test that the father must pay for himself and a court order. This is despite their own policy only requiring a paternity test in cases where the father is not a citizen,“ she added.
She added that Home Affairs' laws, policies and practices tend to treat most applications for late registration of birth with suspicion, especially if the applicant is not the mother of the child.
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) also noted that even though South Africa had high rates of birth registration and guaranteed birth registration for all, there were some gaps.
Unicef globally advocates and promotes universal birth registration and has launched the “No Name Campaign”, ensuring that every child has a legal identity.
"A birth certificate is a fundamental means of safeguarding a person’s rights for the entirety of their life. Without a birth certificate, access to health, education and social grants will be hampered, in addition, children without birth certificates are at increased risk of violence and exploitation,“ said Unicef.
Home Affairs said it was now looking into ways to resolve the case.
Spokesperson for the Home Affairs ministry, Siya Qoboza said: “The department is looking at assisting the family this week.”