PRIME Minister James Marape has lauded the Parliament for passing the Civil and Identity Registry Bill which was tabled yesterday by Minister for Administrative Services and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Constitutional Matters, Hon. Richard Masere.
In commending the Bill and its passing with a majority vote of 76-0, surpassing the required absolute majority of 60 votes, PM Marape stated that it is of paramount importance for Papua New Guinea to have a reliable and effective source of data on the country’s population identity to underpin the government’s development agenda into the future.
He said given the challenges associated with gathering the required population identity data for the country in the past, this Bill is of significant importance to underscore the work of the National Civil and Identity Registry Office, and to enable greater efficiency in the collection and recording of data for people.
PM Marape said the new Act is aimed at providing for the establishment and maintenance of a Registry for Births, Deaths and Marriages and the recording in the Registry of Information in respect of births, deaths, marriages, changes of name, and adoptions that take place in PNG, which repeals the Civil Registration Act (Chapter 304).
The Prime Minister said his government looks forward to covering the entire country in terms of specific population identity data, thus enabling Government to strengthen its planning capacity for the nation’s economy and overcoming pressing socio-economic challenges.
“The Pangu-led Government is a responsible Government with policies based on inclusivity across the country in the delivery of services in the districts and provinces.
“Therefore, accurate and reliable identity information on our people is significantly vital for enabling effective service delivery and for their social well-being,” Marape said.
“Apart from addressing economic issues for the country based on our population identity, this Act gives us the power to have better access to information on our people’s specific identity, which then propels us as a government to addressing pressing law and order situations by way of properly identifying people as they are represented in legal procedures.
“This will also assist us in dealing with border security, transnational crime and related issues facing our country.
“With better identity records of our population, we can better manage our towns and cities, as well as educational institutions, health facilities, financial processes and so on.”
