South Africa’s president promises digital ID launch in 2026

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has committed to a 2026 rollout for the country’s digital identity system.

In his 2026 “State of the Nation Address,” President Ramaphosa promised that this year, South Africa “will harness digital transformation as a driver of growth, inclusion and effective service delivery.”

He went on to outline how a key part of this mission will be the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) launching “a Digital ID to enable safe and secure use of digital services for all South Africans.” The president said that there are plans to digitize driver’s licenses, matriculation certificates, and services at the Master’s Office, all of which will be a part of South Africa’s “MyMzansi” roadmap, a unified digital government services initiative.

“Soon, every South African will be able to access many of the services they need without visiting a government office or filling out manual forms,” said Ramaphosa. “This year alone, hundreds more bank branches will now offer Smart ID and passport services, decreasing queues and waiting times.”

Ramaphosa added that “citizens will be able to fill out police statements online and eligibility for South African Social Security Agency [SASSA] grants can be tested remotely.” In terms of the latter, Social Development Minister Nokuzola Tolashe was recently quoted as saying that the SASSA had already saved over 300 million Rand ($18.7 million) since the biometric verification system was introduced.

According to the MyMzansi site, South Africa’s digital public infrastructure (DPI) approach is inspired by global best practices in countries like India, Brazil, and Estonia; the latter of which has been hailed by many as a benchmark for successful digital ID implementation.

Ramaphosa also briefly hinted at some common concerns around digital ID, namely privacy, security, and surveillance. On this, he said “we will also work with civil society to ensure that citizen’s protections and rights are safeguarded through this digital revolution.”

South Africa’s digital ID has been in the works for some time. In 2025, Interior Minister Leon Schreiber stated that “our apex priority is simple yet monumentally ambitious: to automate and digitalise as many processes as possible.”

Outside of digital ID, President Ramaphosa also praised South Africa’s growing service sector, from digital technology to financial services, saying that “we are attracting major investment in digital infrastructure, with 55 data centres already built and more than R50 billion [USD$3.12 billion] of investment expected over the next three years.”

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