adminSukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu Plumtree Correspondent
REGISTRY offices nationwide have been ordered not to refer clients seeking birth certificates or other important documents back to stations located within their districts of origin.
Home Affairs Deputy Minister, Cde Obedingwa Mguni said each registry office including those at sub district level were now expected to handle all clients that came to them.
“It is a common norm that some people can’t obtain birth certificates from a registry office located in their area of residence if it is not their area of origin. As a result people are always referred to other registry offices.
“This is coming to an end as our Ministry has ordered registry offices to stop making any referrals. Each office is connected to a network system and therefore instead of referring clients to other stations our officers are expected to contact the other offices to gather the required information,” he said.
Cde Mguni said elderly people in rural areas who were in possession of short birth certificates were facing challenges in trying to obtain longer ones.
He said registry offices were referring them to their places of birth to obtain a confirmation letter which forced most of them to give up on the process.
He said other people were facing difficulties when they wanted their birth certificates replaced with clearer ones.
“We can’t have people being sent from one district or one province to another. This is a sign of poor service delivery and laziness from our officers. Some officers charge a search fee just for a document which can be retrieved from a file.
“As a Ministry we want to ensure that service delivery improves. Offices located in various districts should co-ordinate among themselves. Some people have even given up on regularising some of their documents because of the unnecessary hustle involved,” he said.
Cde Mguni said his Ministry had also increased the number of sub district branches that issue birth certificates and National Identity Cards.
He said these branches were also linked to the system and were expected to serve all clients regardless of their place of origin.
Cde Mguni said at a branch which was opened recently in Makorokoro area in Mangwe District, birth certificates were issued to 1 027 pupils coming from three primary schools within the area.
“These figures are a sign that a lot has to be done in remote areas and more birth certificate issuing sites have to be opened. We want this service to be accessible to people as much as possible and less difficult and less complicated,” he said. — @DubeMatutu
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