adminPatrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
FOUR officers from the Registrar-General’s office in Kwekwe District have been suspended pending disciplinary action over acts of alleged misconduct, Midlands Provincial Registrar, Agnes Gambura has said. Briefing members of the Defence and Home Affairs parliamentary portfolio committee during an outreach meeting at Kwekwe RG’s office on Tuesday, Gambura said two of the suspended officials demanded a $20 bribe from a member of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), who was applying for an identity card to replace one that had been lost.
Gambura did not state the charges that the other two suspended officers were facing. “In Kwekwe District there are four officers who have been suspended pending disciplinary action. The office doesn’t condone acts of misconduct which affect service delivery,” said Gambura.
Turning to the operations of the RG’s office in the province, she said inadequate vehicles and staff were hampering service delivery. Gambura said they were also faced with a shortage of accommodation for members of staff in some areas.
“We’re understaffed in some areas and we need beefing up. There’s also a problem of accommodation for our officers and transport. This causes late attendance at work,” said Gambura. She said there was a need to put stringent measures for foreigners to get local documentation to guard against criminal activities.
“In countries like Britain it’s not easy for a foreigner to get any form of documentation as compared to here. So a law should be passed that makes it a bit difficult for foreigners to obtain local documentation,” she said.
Committee chairperson, Cde Ronald Muderedzwa, who is also Zanu PF’s Buhera Central MP said they would take up the RG’s Office concerns to the National Assembly for consideration. The team also toured other RG’s office substations in Silobela.
derick.khumalo