MORE than three million Zimbabweans acquired vital national documents during the countrywide mobile registration exercise, surpassing the targeted figure of two million, a senior government official has said.
Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage permanent secretary Aaron Nhepera said the mobile exercise, which ran from April 1 and ended on Friday, had been a success.
“The ministry had anticipated to issue two million documents by the end of the programme. “We are pleased to inform the nation that as at 22 September, 2022, a total of 3 103 485 documents had been issued, surpassing the planned target,” he said.
“The documents issued are as follows: (a) Birth Certificates – 1 758 322 (b) Death certificates — 44 590 (c) National Identity Documents — 1 300 573. “The Ministry will only be able to provide the updated statistics after the end of the programme.
“Due to the last-minute rush to meet the deadline for the end of the national mobile registration exercise, it has been observed that most of the mobile centres are overwhelmed with clients trying to acquire vital civil registration documents.
In that regard, our teams on the ground are working flat out to ensure that every client is attended to.” Nhepera said the public who will not be able to acquire the documents by the closing deadline, should seek assistance at any nearest registry office.
Successive strict Covid-19 lockdowns had resulted in a huge backlog at the Registrar General’s department as it was only processing urgent documents such as burial orders and a limited number of passports. The government launched the registration blitz as part of preparations for the 2023 harmonised elections as it sought to provide every eligible voter an opportunity to cast their ballots. — New Ziana