Online Reporter
Sikhumbuzo Moyo [email protected]
THE Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has assured its employees that no one will lose their job as a result of the transfer of voter registration and management functions to the Civil Registry Department following the Constitutional Amendment.
The handover-takeover process between ZEC and the Registrar-General’s Office has already commenced, with voter registration and related functions now falling under the Civil Registry Department.
Speaking in an interview on the sidelines of a workshop at a Bulawayo hotel last week, ZEC chief elections officer Dr Simbarashe Tongayi said the commission had 93 highly experienced personnel who had been responsible for voter registration and delimitation.
“You need to understand that when the law was enacted, the Commission used to have a department we called voter registration and delimitation, and it was staffed by 93 members. We no longer have that department now and, as the Registrar-General said, these were very experienced personnel in ICT,” he said.
Dr Tongayi said the Registrar-General’s Office had indicated that it was willing to accommodate the experienced ZEC personnel, which would help ensure continuity and stability during the transition.
“If you look at it now, the voter registration and delimitation function was decentralised and we have 68 electoral districts, each with one person. Administratively, we think it is very noble and strategic for the Civil Registry to consider taking in our staff,” he said.
He said retaining the personnel would also help smooth the handover process, given their experience and knowledge of the electoral registration system.
“This will also create stability for the handover-takeover process,” said Dr Tongayi.
He assured ZEC employees and the nation that the transfer of functions would not result in retrenchments or job losses.
“What I want to assure the nation is that, at policy level, there is no one who is going to be affected in terms of retrenchment. Everyone is going to be accommodated, everyone is safe. There will be no job losses, that I can assure,” he said.
