Tendai Mugabe, Harare Bureau
\nGovernment has waived all charges required to acquire civil documents such as identity cards or birth certificates during the 90-day registration blitz by the office of the Registrar General to allow more people to get the documents ahead of next year\u2019s general elections.<\/p>\n
Home Affairs Minister Dr Ignatius Chombo told our Harare Bureau last night that the waiver was in response to a plea from the public that the charges were too exorbitant.<\/p>\n
The fees charged by the Registrar General\u2019s Office have been ranging between $5 and $10 for replacing national identity cards.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe response from the public is that the 90-day civil registration blitz by the RG\u2019s office is a good programme, but the concern is that the $10 being charged for lost IDs and $5 for lost birth certificates and $50 for aliens is too high,\u201d said Dr Chombo.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe request from all the provinces was that can this be waived so that people can get birth certificates and IDs. We have decided that for the duration of the blitz, all civil documents will be obtained for free, even those who lost.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome are saying they do not need to be asked too many questions before being issued with these documents, but the officers on the ground will use their discretion to ask those questions. These are security documents and they should be issued judiciously.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, it will not make sense to ask a 72-year-old person to bring his or her parents, but village heads or other leaders in society can testify that they know that person. Some of the bureaucracy will be reduced, but extra care will be taken.\u201d<\/p>\n