Saying that her department (Home Affairs) is working around the clock to ensure that data concerning South Africans kept in their databases is correct and up to date, Minister Hlengiwe Mkhize told journalists yesterday that they have become aware of the fact that most people stop growing when they pass away, so their (Home Affairs) systems should also be upgraded and updated to reflect such information.

“We have got millions of people who are more than 490 years old on our systems, and some of them died billions of years ago. We have noticed lately that when people die, they stop celebrating their birthdays. That means they stop growing. We want our systems to reflect that kind of data. We are working very hard to accomplish this. It won’t be easy, but we will get there.” said Mkhize.

The department of Home Affairs will invest six trillion Rands into this project in the next five years to make sure that it becomes a success. The money will cover IT Equipment, Labour, and mostly bribes, Minister Mkhize revealed.