South Africa is building a population register that will hold biometric data for every single person living in the country. The government confirmed the move as part of a broader push to tighten how people and their identities are tracked within the nation's borders.
Alongside the register, new regulations are coming to stop the misuse of Traffic Registration Numbers, known as TRNs. The concern is that these numbers have been vulnerable to abuse, and the government wants firmer rules around how they are used and by whom.
Together, the two measures signal that Pretoria is getting serious about closing the gaps in its migration and identity infrastructure. Whether the rollout lives up to the ambition is the question worth watching.
Originally published by AllAfrica.