Cape Argus – 20 Apr 2017
Written by : Mthokozisi Alex Sibanda
No joy for my baby with no SA birth certificate
Home Affairs’ response is cold comfort for parents who seek papers
MY WIFE and I have been following with interest, the article in your paper written by Bronwyn Davids (“SAHRC to review birth certificates”, Cape Argus, April 10) regarding children born in South Africa to foreign nationals who are being rendered stateless without valid documentation.
Of notable interest was the part about the South African Human Rights Commission looking into the issue.
The Home Affairs statement tends to simplify the issue when it comes to children born in South Africa to parents who are permanent residents: “Children born of permanent residents follow their parents’ status. We do not separate children from parents.”
This wrongly implies that challenges are only faced by children whose foreign parents are in South Africa illegally and are undocumented.