His identity document was allegedly stolen when he was shopping in November last year in Louis Trichardt and his efforts of re-applying for a new identity document at the Home Affairs offices twice have not yet brought a smile to his face.

Mr Tshamano Wilson Mphidi (75) of Tshitasini, Madombidzha, has been unable to receive his social grant since his identity document disappeared four months ago. Mphidi, who has been living on credit, said that life is become tougher for him as he is unable to pay off the balances of his credit.

He has re-applied for a new identity document at the Louis Trichardt Home Affairs offices twice, but with no positive result. The pensioner, who stays with two orphans and his sister, added that an official who is processing his application at the local Home Affairs offices has told him on several occasions that the delay in the issuing of his new identity document was at the departmental head office in Pretoria.

Mphidi further claimed that when he produced his temporary ID at the social grant pay point, officials told him that they needed an identity document.

As if that was not enough, the pensioner further claimed that the officials from the Department of Health and Social Development also told him that his social grant card was damaged. "The official said that they could only give me a new social grant card if I had an identity document. I am going through all this because I am illiterate and I was born into a poor family," he said.

Mphidi said that he was tired of visiting the Home Affairs offices because they keep on making unrealistic promises.

An official at the Louis Trichardt Home Affairs office, Mrs Mashawana, confirmed that Mphidi has re-applied for his identity document twice, but she claimed that the departmental system has detected that Mphidi has two identity documents, but with different dates of birth. "I have done everything possible to help this old man. What he should know is that the head office is currently working on his application," she said.

Mirror also learnt that when Mphidi applied for the identity document some years ago on the Reef, he claimed to have been born in 1937. When he re-applied for his second ID in the former Venda homeland, Mphidi changed his date of birth. He said that he was born in 1932.