The Sunday Mail
Online Reporter
Civil registration is an important tool to trace progress made towards attaining international development targets such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Africa Union Agenda 2063, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe has said.
In a speech read on his behalf by Home Affairs Deputy Minister Ruth Maboyi during the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) Day commemorations in Harare on Wednesday, Minister Kazembe said Government was determined to ensure universal access to civic documents.
“Provision of vital and essential services to citizens can only become effective when all are registered and when it is known who lives where, and what services they require,” he said.
“Government has made birth registration free of charge with a view to ensure accessibility of vital civil registration documents by all citizens.”
Speaking at the same event, Harare Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Mr Tafadzwa Muguti said a functional CRVS system was the best source of complete, timely and continuous data.
“Currently, Zimbabwe has been registering fewer births, deaths, marriages and divorces than those actually taking place,” he said.
“As a result, the quality of vital statistics from such records is affected.
“These challenges have been exacerbated, most importantly, by lack of coordination between key Government departments in CRVS system.
“Civil Registration and Vital Statistics are essential elements of modern-day administrative systems and facilitate good governance, protection of human rights and the creation of an inclusive society.”
Civil registration, he added, was the foundation of legal identity.
The commemorations were held under the theme “Harnessing Coordination, Country Leadership and Ownership to Strengthen Integrated CRVS systems.”
