Core functions of Civil Registry overlooked

DUE to more emphasis given to the NID card registration the core functions of the Civil Registry Office (CRO) have been overlooked by past and present government.
These were remarks highlighted by the Deputy Registrar General for Civil Registry, Lucas Apingwa during a one-week information session conducted by the National Censorship Office.
Apingwa said the information session is a significant way to disseminate correct information to parents in particular to register the unregistered births.
He said that due to the emphasis given to NID card registration consequently, the backlog of unregistered birth certificates, death certificates and marriages certificates have accumulated over the years.
Apingwa said similarly, public servants who are married are yet to be registered and must register to access entitlements and benefits.
“Furthermore, public servants should understand the importance of death registration, so that they can access the deceased estate,” he said.
He said due to lack of knowledge there are many spouses and children who have missed out or are still struggling with the system.
Meanwhile, the Chief Censor Jim Abani said the information workshop was a lead up to the organisation’s data cleansing, which would be done through the HR digital transformation.
He said it is core business mandate within the public service to have stakeholders such as CRO, National Office of Child and Family Services and others to come and share information that is vital.
Abani said for his organisation which has about 33 new staff it was a pleasure having CRO and welfare come to do presentations on vital information such as death certificates, child adoption and others.