Online Reporter
Fairness Moyana in Hwange
ZIMBABWE’S drive to modernise civil registration and identity management has won praise from African registrars-general, with delegates describing the country’s digital registration system as one of the continent’s most advanced after a recent tour of the Hwange District Registry Office.
The delegation, drawn from the 54 African union member states, attended the Annual Expert Group Meeting for African Registrars General on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) in Victoria Falls last week, and visited the registry office to witness first-hand how Zimbabwe has integrated birth registration, national identity, passport services and other vital registration processes under one roof.
Speaking on the sidelines of the tour, Deputy Registrar-General responsible for Systems Development and Management, Mr Nicholas Chimuriwo, said the visit was an opportunity for Zimbabwe to showcase the progress it has made in digitising civil registration and vital statistics.
“We wanted to show our colleagues, the other Registrars General in Africa, what our system in terms of eCRVS is doing, particularly the registration of births, deaths and national identity documents,” he said.
“We’ve been showcasing our experience so that other countries can also learn from what we have been doing here.”
Mr Chimuriwo said Zimbabwe has already computerised registry services in all 10 provinces and all 63 districts, while more than 20 of the country’s 209 sub-offices have also been digitised as part of an ongoing decentralisation programme. He added that the department has established e-passport centres in all provinces and several districts, with plans to further expand services closer to communities through traditional leaders and health institutions.
He also revealed that registry officials have been deployed at the country’s border posts to ensure returning Zimbabweans receive registration services immediately upon entry, while those travelling onward are encouraged to visit provincial and district registry offices to obtain vital documents.
The week-long meeting, held under the theme: “New CRVS Decade (2026-2036): Consolidating the Gains of APAI-CRVS and Securing the Future of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics in Africa through Integration, Decentralisation, and Digitalisation”, focused on strengthening digital civil registration systems across Africa.
Delegates also discussed interoperability between registration systems, decentralisation strategies and improving registration of births, deaths, marriages and divorces.
Rwanda’s Director General of the National Identification Agency, Mrs Josephine Mukesha, said she was impressed by Zimbabwe’s integrated approach to service delivery.
“We can see that everything is digitalised from one process to another —from birth notification and registration to birth certificates, national identity cards and passports,” she said.
Mrs Mukesha noted that while some processes remain manual, Zimbabwe is steadily integrating them into a fully digital platform.
“It is a phased approach, which is really a conventional measure of how we digitalise systems within a country,” she said.
She said Rwanda could learn from Zimbabwe’s one-stop service model, where multiple registration services are offered within the same facility, enabling citizens to complete several processes in a single visit.
Mrs Mukesha added that practical visits such as the one to Hwange were invaluable because they allowed delegates to see how digital civil registration systems function in real-life settings.
“Different countries are at different stages of implementation and Zimbabwe is among the advanced ones. This gives countries that are still at the beginning of the journey a practical idea of how such systems can be implemented,” she said.
Registrar-General of Zambia, Mr Davies Chakalanga, also commended Zimbabwe’s efficient service delivery, saying the country’s decentralised passport and civil registration services offered important lessons for the region.
He said Zimbabwe’s arrangement, where passport, identity and civil registration services are provided within one office, improves efficiency while reducing opportunities for corruption.
“I discovered that there is enhanced efficiency in the issuance of civil registration documents, including passports. Everyone who comes does not go back without getting what they came for,” he said.
Mr Chakalanga praised the registry office for prioritising elderly persons and people with disabilities through dedicated service points, describing it as a model of inclusive public service delivery.
He further noted that Zimbabwe’s ability to issue passports within as little as two to seven days compares favourably with Zambia’s standard 14-day processing period.
“We have a lot to learn from Zimbabwe. A passport is a very important document that should be issued within the shortest possible time, and Zimbabwe is doing extremely well,” he said.
The delegates’ visit formed part of broader efforts by African countries to strengthen civil registration and vital statistics systems through the African eCRVS Shared Asset initiative, which seeks to promote common digital standards, interoperability and cost-effective registration systems across the continent.
