It's South Africa.
South Africa is using biometrics for several ID management tasks: a population register, immigration and refugees. The synergies in integrating these three systems are obvious and might be extended to include South African welfare programs.
Smart ID cards use microchips that store biometric and other information that can be checked against databases. They are difficult to forge.
Special scanners “read” the bearer’s thumbprint and if it does not match that on the database, officials are alerted by the system.
Dlamini Zuma said the cards were key to a national identity system that would replace the present multiple systems used to manage the registration of births, marriages and deaths, and immigration data.
It would allow the biometric and biographical details of foreigners and South Africans to be digitally captured and stored in a single integrated system linked to those managing asylum seekers and refugees.
See also:
New ID smart card will be ‘no dompas’ (Business Day - S. Africa)
