The South African government is working on a major housing project and is looking to sophisticated technology to help ensure that it unfolds as planned. To that end, the Department of Human Settlements has announced it will use biometric authentication for home ownership.
It’s for the N2 Gateway Project, a massive housing project that the DHS has organized via the Housing Development Agency and is expected to deliver 23,000 housing accommodations for over 110,000 households. While the housing project therefore presents an important opportunity for housing applications, it has also been the subject of controversy, with critics having accused the South African government of using it as a beautification tool ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and the project having resulted in mass evictions of the shackdwellers who previously occupied the area—which, in turn, led to illegal occupations of housing units in late 2007.
That’s why the government is now preparing to use biometric authentication to verify that those dwelling in the housing project are actually the title deed holders. Details of the modalities to be used haven’t yet been revealed, but the system will entail regular surveys from government authorities, and Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu says the government aims to complete the project by 2017.
The South African government is evidently getting excited about biometric technology, with a major border screening trial also underway. That project has moved very quickly since its initial announcement in November, and is poised to conclude by the end of next March, with a further expansion expected beyond that.
Source: AllAfrica
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December 21, 2015 – by Alex Perala
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