THOUSANDS of villagers in Binga, Matabeleland North province, have obtained identity documents during the ongoing Civil Registry Department mobile registration exercise.
The Civil Registry Department is conducting the exercise with support from Unicef under the Child Protection Fund.
The embassy of Sweden is funding the exercise.
Binga ward 1 councillor of Tyunga-lunga village under Chief Sinamusanga, Minister Mumpande, said villagers risked being attacked by wild animals, while travelling long distances to Binga centre to obtain identity documents.
“The big challenge that we have is that this area where we live is very prone to human-wildlife conflicts. In most cases, people are discouraged to travel long distances because of fear of being attacked by wild animals,” Mumpande said.
“The other reasons are the roads are bad, the terrain of our roads makes movement complicated, and there’s no transportation, thus people tell themselves that they can’t risk being trampled on by elephants for a birth certificate . . .”
Christine Chikerema, the deputy registrar general for provincial operations in the Civil Registry Department, said the department aimed to decentralise its services.
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“This additional support is what is enabling us, for example, to roll out this targeted mobile outreach,” she said.
“The partnership with development partners like Unicef [United Nations Children’s Fund], the Swedish embassy enables the department to reach the very hard to reach areas,” she said.
“It is very key because it enables us to achieve the vision 2030 goal of provision of legal identity for all by 2030.”
Unicef Zimbabwe child protection manager Nyasha Mayanga said the exercise sought to protect the rights and welfare of children to access crucial services.
“Securing a birth certificate for the birth registration process is not merely an administrative process or a bureaucratic process, but it is a gateway to accessing essential services, to protecting the children and to ensuring their right to identity and nationality is fulfilled,” Mayanga said.
The headmen of the area, Jetro Mwinde praised the mobile registration blitz.
