Zimbabweans urged to go for ID cards as catch-up registration drive imminent

Dates for a catch-up national mobile registration exercise for the obtention of ID documents (birth certificates and ID cards) in Zimbabwe will be made public soon, according to the country’s Minister of Home Affairs, Kazembe Kazembe.

Zimbabwean state-run newspaper The Herald reports that the exercise is to create a second chance for citizens who failed to register for their ID cards during the initial registration window, and also for those who need a replacement for their lost legal identity documents.

The purpose of the all-out effort is to enable Zimbabweans who want to vote in the upcoming general election to be able to register when the Zimbabwe Elections Commission (ZEC) begins voter registration.

“The national mobile registration exercise, which no doubt gave citizens across the country easy access to documents, dovetails with the national thrust of leaving no one and no place behind as we march towards the attainment of our national vision 2030,” said Kazembe.

Recall that a similar mop-up exercise took place last year during which 3.2 million birth certificates and ID cards were issued for free to citizens, following directives from President Emerson Mnangagwa.

This time around, the issuance of the ID documents will also be gratis, according to the outlet.

Meanwhile, deputy Home Affairs Minister Ruth Maboyi has called on citizens to take advantage of such special campaigns to acquire ID documents.

“We have realized that some people still don’t have these documents and hence, we continue to encourage them to utilize civil registry offices dotted across the country. It is important that our citizens have seamless access to such important documents,” said Maboyi as quoted by Chronicle.

She laid emphasis on the importance of ID documents such as birth certificates which are critical in accomplishing certain civil duties such as registering to vote in elections. She notes that it is also vital in acquiring other ID credentials such as ID cards and passports.

In the meantime, information has emerged that millions of Zimbabwean dollars are still owned workers of the Civil Registration Department who engaged in the special ID registration campaign last year.

The information is reported by Zimbabwe Independent which notes that there were also delays by the treasury in disbursing money for enumerators during the country’s national population census conducted by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency.

The ID registration blitz was carried out by Civil Registration Department staff and personnel recruited from other government ministries, department and agencies, per the outlet.

The report quotes some workers as saying they were paid only for three out of eight months which the ID registration exercise lasted.

The challenges and impact of legal identification in Zimbabwe were explored in a recent episode of the ID16.9 podcast.

Article Topics

Africa  |  birth registration  |  civil registration  |  digital ID  |  digital ID cards  |  legal identity  |  national ID  |  Zimbabwe