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Obedingwa Mguni

Sukulwenkosi Dube, Plumtree Correspondent
THE Ministry of Home Affairs has sent a request to treasury for $16 million to deploy mobile teams locally, in Botswana and South Africa to conduct an exercise to issue birth certificates and national identification documents (IDs) to Zimbabweans.

Home Affairs Deputy Minister, Cde Obedingwa Mguni, said the move was part of efforts to ease congestion at registry offices.

“We have presented our $16 million budget to have mobile teams deployed and camping in schools throughout the country to issue IDs and passports. This service will also be extended to Zimbabweans working in Botswana and South Africa.

“The number of mobile teams will be determined by the approval of the budget. The exercise will be conducted in different phases and the first will begin in August ending next year April,” he said.

Cde Mguni said the Ministry’s target was to ensure that all people in need of the documents get them.

He expressed concern that the bulk of primary school pupils in remote areas did not have birth certificates. The same applies to children who were born in neighbouring countries, but later came to Zimbabwe.

Cde Mguni said lack of birth certificates results in children dropping out of school at primary level.