Zimbabwe: ‘Laws governing issuance of national documents must be amended’
Published: 13/Aug/2019
Source: The Chronicle (Harare)
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent
CHIEFS in Matabeleland South Province have said laws governing the issuance of national documents must be amended as they were making it difficult for the rural folk to access crucial documents such as birth certificates and national identity cards.
Speaking in separate interviews during a Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) provincial consultative stakeholder meeting on access to national documents in Gwanda on Tuesday last week, chiefs said there was need for the Registrar General’s Office to put in place policies that would allow children to access to birth certificates.
The commission is conducting public hearings on access to documentation in the country.
Chief Gwebu from Umzingwane District said the challenge of obtaining documents has been ongoing for a long time.
“Widows in my area are struggling to access death certificates after the death of their husbands; children are struggling to write their examinations as they don’t have birth certificates. Some of them drop out of school before writing their Grade Seven examinations because of this challenge,” he said.
Read further: https://www.chronicle.co.zw/laws-governing-issuance-of-national-documents-must-be-amended/