News / National
NGOs blame RG's office, Registrar General's office dismisses ID allegations
18 Nov 2011 at 04:51hrs | Views
THE Registrar General's office has dismissed allegations that its stringent regulations regarding the issuance of identity documents has deprived the right to identity to many people in farming communities.
This position is in reply to the results of surveys carried out by some NGOs who blamed the RG's office for low literacy levels and early marriages in the affected communities.
The Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe says their survey revealed that most of the girls in farming communities marry at the average age of 15 after dropping out of school. It said farm communities had problems accessing birth certificates and national identity documents forcing children to drop out of school after grade six as they would not have birth certificates which are mandatory to register for grade seven exams.
The spokesman in the RG's office Mr Ken Bvumavaranda yesterday said most of the farm workers are officially considered as aliens as they are descendants of migrant labourers from Mozambique and Malawi.
These people are required to prove beyond doubt that they have been resident in Zimbabwe for 25 years. Mr Bvumavaranda said that the department had standard basic requirements that every applicant for national identity document - new or replacement - has to satisfy and cannot create special conditions for any group.
"It must be taken into consideration that an identity document is a security document which is issued once we're satisfied beyond doubt that the applicant meets our basic requirements," said Mr Bvumavaranda.
This position is in reply to the results of surveys carried out by some NGOs who blamed the RG's office for low literacy levels and early marriages in the affected communities.
The Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe says their survey revealed that most of the girls in farming communities marry at the average age of 15 after dropping out of school. It said farm communities had problems accessing birth certificates and national identity documents forcing children to drop out of school after grade six as they would not have birth certificates which are mandatory to register for grade seven exams.
The spokesman in the RG's office Mr Ken Bvumavaranda yesterday said most of the farm workers are officially considered as aliens as they are descendants of migrant labourers from Mozambique and Malawi.
These people are required to prove beyond doubt that they have been resident in Zimbabwe for 25 years. Mr Bvumavaranda said that the department had standard basic requirements that every applicant for national identity document - new or replacement - has to satisfy and cannot create special conditions for any group.
"It must be taken into consideration that an identity document is a security document which is issued once we're satisfied beyond doubt that the applicant meets our basic requirements," said Mr Bvumavaranda.
Source - TH
