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Mkhululi Ncube

AT six years, Simphiwe Dube of Bhaladza Village in Bulilima district, Matabeleland South Province is yet to attend school.

Unlike her peers who will be going for Grade One when schools open and are now familiar with the school set up, all she knows about school is that which has been passed to her by friends while playing.

She was born to her South Africa-based mother who managed to get her a South African birth certificate.

Unfortunately for Simphiwe, her mother died after a short illness and relatives sent her back home to be taken care of by her 67-year-old grandmother Mrs Bekiwe Dube, who is a widow.

Her grandmother has tried in vain to obtain her a Zimbabwean birth certificate.

She has failed to enrol Simphiwe at Gwambe Primary School, which ironically is a few metres from the homestead of the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr Evelyn Ndlovu. As a matter of “principle,” the school does not enrol learners who do not possess birth certificates.

“Simphiwe was left in my care when my daughter passed away recently after she came home sick from South Africa where she worked for years.

I went to registry offices, but they demanded that I bring the birth record. I presented the death certificate of her mother and told them it is impossible for me to travel to South Africa for the birth record as I have never been there.

I was told I could get her the birth-certificate in Bulawayo for 1 000 rand through illegal means, but I cannot afford to raise that amount.

“She has never been to school and it pains me when other children go to school while she is home doing nothing.

As a girl child, this is pointing to a very difficult life for her. Schools should allow children to enrol even without birth certificates because it is not the children’s fault that they do not have the documents.

Government should address this to avoid the hardships we are going through trying to get these documents, which are a part of the children’s rights,” said Mrs Dube.

An option for Simphiwe is Diba Primary School which takes such pupils, but it is about 5km away from her grandmother’s homestead and for someone her age to walk that distance by herself will be a torturous exercise that Mrs Dube doesn’t want her grand daughter to endure.

Her story is not unique. Many other children in Bulilima and Mangwe districts who were born in neighbouring countries do not have birth certificates.

Bulilima’s Ward Two councillor, Melusi Nkomo said the problem was rife in the district.

“In my ward alone, we have around 800 children and adults who are facing this challenge.

The biggest issue is that those born outside the country do not bring health cards or birth records from where the children were born.

We also have a big number of orphaned children and it becomes difficult for guardians to process documentation,” he said.

Cllr Nkomo also bemoaned poor customer service at the registry office in Plumtree as the staff do not seem to care.

He said they were pinning their hopes on the mobile registration exercise started by the Government last year, which covered the San community in Tsholotsho where people without documents were assisted with the usual demands waived.

“The staff at the registry office are not courteous enough to explain what is required.

They will just dismiss people without explaining the options they have if their papers are not in order.

Some people end up losing money through corruption from people who will be promising that they can assist them.

I have a register of those who need assistance so that when the mobile exercise comes to our area, we assist them,” he said.

Bulilima Ward Seven councillor in Masendu, Cllr Vincent Dube said even if some schools enrolled pupils without birth certificates, they have challenges writing exams while those gifted in sports cannot participate in competitions that require proof of age.

“I have the same problem in my Ward as many children are not going to school. The challenge is that you will find one school taking them, while another is not so you end up being confused as to what is the correct position.

I have adults who are also in the same situation. We are talking about children now, but in the near future they will be adults and if they do not have documents, it just perpetuates the problem.

There is need for a change of legislation to address the situation,” he said.

Cllr Benjamin Nleya from Ward 20 in Dombodema said the situation was the same in his area, with those without required documents ranging from children born during the liberation struggle, the post-independence disturbances, in neighbouring countries, and orphans.

Bulilima West legislator Cde Dingumuzi Phuthi said the issue of access to national documents was alienating people from social and political participation as they could not participate in the development of their communities.

He said the challenge was also contributing to a huge number of people crossing the border illegally as they could not apply for passports.

“First of all, it means you are not going to go to school. I have witnessed a lot of pupils, some very brilliant at school, failing to proceed to write Grade Seven exams.

Some who are very talented in sports fail to participate beyond inter-house competitions because they do not have birth certificates and that destroys their self-esteem.

You do not have a right to exist just by not having a birth certificate, you are like a squatter, and your right to exist in the area would be suspicious.

“This problem was caused by various factors which included the fact that Bulilima/Mangwe was too big a district and registry centres were not decentralised.

What also caused this was that rules applying at the Ministry of Home Affairs in terms of obtaining such documents are too rigid, they are not cognisant of the fact that some people lost parents and relatives through the war and other problems in society.

When you go there to narrate a story, they do not understand it as a reality in the area they serve, particularly in Bulilima and Mangwe, I have seen that,” he said.

Cde Phuthi says working in neighbouring countries has also resulted in Zimbabweans starting families with foreign nationals whom they cannot bring home to apply for the documents.

He said as a result, some fail to meet the requirements for both parents to be present when applying for IDs for those who do not have marriage certificates.

“This problem can be solved by, first of all a declaration of a discriminate issuance of birth certificates and IDs to people from affected areas.

We start having a clean nation that is registered which can participate in a plebiscite, that can participate towards national growth.

We also need to analyse that the number of registered voters in our constituencies in Matabeleland South does not reflect a true reality of our life because it does not report how many people need to be attended to.

These are fundamentals that should be addressed first and foremost before we consider things at secondary level,” he said.

Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr Evelyn Ndlovu said schools that were denying children the right to learn were breaking the law.

Dr Ndlovu said she had instructed staff in her ministry to make sure that children were not denied their right to education because of not having birth certificates.

“There is no policy that prevents a child from being enrolled in the school without a birth certificate. It is the child’s right that is enunciated in the constitution that should be adhered to by our school heads.

I have assigned the District Schools Inspector in Plumtree to contact all school heads on this issue. It’s criminal conduct for a head to refuse to enrol children without birth certificates,” she said.

She also challenged parents based outside the country to make sure they help their children get the important documents when they come home.

When reached for comment, Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe said: “We have a mobile nationwide registration programme commencing this first quarter of the year.

This is meant to ensure the backlog is cleared and everyone gets their IDs. This is also being done in time for the 2023 elections to ensure that people are accorded the opportunity to vote,” he said.

For Simphiwe’s grandmother and many others in this situation, this could be their last chance to start a new life and help avert a bleak future. – @themkhust