Airtime prices an obstacle to accessing birth certificates
AIRTIME prices may hinder women from accessing birth certificates for their children following Covid-19 restrictive measures which require them to call and book an appointment with the registrar’s office before going there physically.
Since the beginning of the lockdown in March, women struggled to access the registry office to register births as it had been temporarily closed to contain Covid19.
The Constitution in Section 81 (1) (b) states that: “Every child, that is to say every boy and girl under the age of 18 years has the right to be given a name and family name.”
A notice of birth should be given to the Registrar at the nearest birth and death registration office in the district within 42 days and where there was a stillbirth, such a notice should be done as soon as possible or within 30 days.
On average, Zimbabwe receives just over 400 000 births annually, this means the backlog which has run for over six months could be about 200 000 unregistered births.
Women’s Coalition of Zimbabwe national co-ordinator Mrs Sally Ncube said while the reopening of the Registrar’s office was welcome, many women were failing to call and book due to exorbitant prices for airtime and data.
She said the most affected were women from rural areas whose proximity to the central registry office is furthest.
“While we appreciate the resumption of operations of the Registrar’s office, particularly on issuing of birth certificates, we are distressed to learn of the new measures that the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage put in place to ensure safe operations. The minister indicated that people wishing to obtain birth certificates will have to call the Central Registry first, get vetted online and are given numbers and dates on which they can visit the Central Registry,” said Mrs Ncube.
“Such measures are discriminatory and exclusionary as many women and girls cannot afford to contact the registry office especially those in rural areas.”
She said the central registry offices are not easily accessible to everyone due to long distances which one should travel.
“Secondly, most individuals do not have resources and the capacity to call the Central Registry in order to book an appointment because of how expensive communication and data has become in Zimbabwe.”
According to Mrs Ncube, many mothers may fail to get the certificates and cause future backlog as about 43 percent of children have no birth certificates.
“Government must refrain from placing undue burdens on women and children when the opportunity to transform is placed before them. We continue to recommend a rapid decentralisation of Central Registry services, through establishing Mobile Birth Certificate-issuing clinics in communities to ensure easy access by all citizens. This will also go a long way in decongesting the Central Registry and dealing with backlogs.”
@thamamoe