Issuance of ID cards going on smoothly

Sunday Mail Reporter

THE Civil Registry Department (CRD) has adequate stocks of consumables used in the production of national identity (ID) cards, contrary to reports that the unit was constrained by shortages of material, Registrar-General Mr Henry Machiri has said.

“There is no ID card crisis within the Civil Registry Department,” he said.

“The department has not run out of consumables and issuance of ID cards is going on smoothly, as Government has provided polythene-synthetic ID card consumables to all computerised registry offices countrywide.”

The department, he said, has several machines capable of individually producing at least 200 ID cards per day.

“The department occasionally experiences system and machine breakdowns, which are normally resolved within a reasonable time frame.

“Under such circumstances, the department issues the green waiting pass to those with emergency cases,” he said.

Meanwhile, the department has decentralised and computerised most of its civil registration stations to facilitate easy access to vital documents.

“The department has decentralised most of its services to all 10 provinces, 63 districts and 202 sub-offices.

“Computerisation was done at all provinces, some districts and sub-offices, all of which issue polythene-synthetic ID cards,” added Mr Machiri.

Stations that have not yet been digitised continue issuing waiting passes.

However, the computerisation programme is being rolled out at the remaining sub-offices countrywide.

This year, CRD will launch an online platform for passport and national ID card applications.

The authorities are presently finalising the upgrade of the Zimbabwe Population Registry System (ZPRS), the official platform that stores and manages the demographic data of all Zimbabwean citizens.

The ZPRS database contains information on each individual’s name, date of birth, sex, nationality, marital status, place of birth and place of residence.

It also contains information on each individual’s national ID number.

The database is being linked to several Government departments, including hospitals, where it will be used to facilitate instant registration of births and deaths.

The Government has already secured high-tech equipment, including servers, to be used for the digital migration before the online application platform for civic documents goes live by year-end.