The Sunday Mail
Brian Chitemba and Kuda Bwititi
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission will not invite bids for voter data storage as it already has the requisite facility, the election management body’s Chair Justice Rita Makarau has said. In May 2017, Zec awarded Chinese firm Laxton Group Limited a tender to supply 3 000 Biometric Voter Registration kits in preparation for the 2018 harmonised elections.
The US$7 million kits should be delivered by September 2017. Sections of the private media subsequently claimed Zec was planning to get another firm to store data collected during voter registration. They also claimed Laxton Group Limited did not want registration and storage handled by separate entities as this would compromise security.
Responding to questions from The Sunday Mail, Justice Makarau said a central storage centre was already available. “The commission has not issued a tender for storing voter registration data. Therefore, the media reports are misguided. Zec already has a Data Centre in place, which just needs upgrading. This was procured with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme in 2014,” she said. “The upgrade is in progress. Zec has shared all the necessary information on the procurement of BVR kits with the public. There is no second tender for the BVR kits.”
Justice Makarau said they would procure fingerprint identification computer software to avoid duplication during registration, adding that sufficient funds were available to purchase the BVR kits. “What is being procured is the automated fingerprint identification software (AFIS), which is software that will assist Zec to detect multiple registrations. It should be noted that AFIS will only start the process of removing duplicate registrants.
“The Government has availed the requisite funding for the BVR kits, and Zec is in the process of transferring the funds to Laxton in terms of the purchase agreement.”
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She added: “The commission would like to assure the public of its commitment to the success of the 2018 harmonised elections by ensuring that all processes leading to the elections are conducted in a transparent and professional manner.
“The commission will put in place all the necessary administrative and logistical mechanisms as guided by the law for a credible election. Zec is working flat out on the roll-out plans and voter education campaign strategies and preparation for the registration exercise to be conducted soon.
“Preparations are also underway to engage and update all the relevant stakeholders, now that we have signed the purchase agreement and payment arrangements are in place.”
