UPND PROTESTS OVER SLOW PACE OF NRCs ISSUANCE

youths in Livingstone have protested the “secrecy” surrounding the mobile National Registration Cards (NRCs) exercise in the tourist capital.

The youths said that the exercise was being handled as though it was a secret or private exercise when in fact was a national exercise.

UPND District Youth Chairperson for administration, Gerald it

Kuyewana, accused

District Commissioner (DC), Pascalina Musokotwane, of attempting to manipulate the exercise to the disadvantage of UPND youths.

"We want to express our disappointment with the way the DC Ms Pascalina Musokotwane and some officers in the national registration office are issuing out the NRCs

“We have realised that they have a scheme to deliberately slow down the process by making up so many excuses," he said.

Mr Kuyewana said that on several occasions, his party had engaged the DC on the need to speed up the process but no tangible solution had been found.

He said there was need for transparency in the manner the exercise was being conducted as it was a public affair and not a private one.

"If they were not ready for this then why did they start it? This exercise has been postponed twice and now, it is very difficult to follow up on this issue and, we don't even know how many people are issued with NRCs in a day.

"We are very disappointed with this exercise which they are making look like it is a secret or a private exercise and when they moved from

Nansanzu going to Libuyu, we couldn't find them and three days later we were told that they are in Katapazi which is in Kazungula district,” Mr Kuyewana lamented.

He challenged the DC to come out and explain if the lost time would be compensated and also state why the exercise was being conducted as though it was a private affair.

Mr Kuyewana said the DC and her team must avail more information especially on movement of the registration team from one place to the other, as it was a mobile exercise.

"The District Commissioner promised that they will be announcing in the night informing people where they will be so that people can go and get NRCs but none of that has happened and this is why we are complaining," he said.