Eswatini’s Ministry of Home Affairs says national identity card production has resumed with immediate effect following a system breakdown that left thousands of applicants waiting for documents in recent months.
The ministry confirmed on Monday that technicians had resolved the fault that halted ID processing across the country late last year, creating a backlog at major service centres.
The disruption had affected both first‑time applicants and those seeking re‑issued cards, forcing many to return repeatedly to service centres without receiving updates on their applications.
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Officials said the interruption also slowed verification processes for schools, banks, and social services that rely on national IDs for enrolment and transactions.
In a statement, the ministry thanked stakeholders involved in restoring the system and acknowledged the inconvenience caused to citizens.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs is pleased to announce the immediate resumption of identification card production services,” the statement said.
It urged applicants who enrolled during the outage to check or collect their cards at the centres where they originally applied. New applicants were encouraged to visit their nearest service point as normal.
ID services are now available at centres in Pigg’s Peak, Mbabane, Manzini, Mankayane, Simunye, Siphofaneni, Matata, Nhlangano and Hluthi.
The ministry warned that demand is expected to surge as the backlog clears, likely resulting in long queues in the coming weeks.
It appealed for public patience as staff work to process applications “promptly and efficiently.”
APA/Shakirat Sadiq
