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Ashley Phiri, [email protected] 

THE Civil Registry Department has launched a mobile registration exercise targeting vulnerable children and child-headed families in St Peter’s, Robert Sinyoka, and Methodist Village in Ward 17, on the outskirts of Bulawayo.

The 10-day exercise, which commenced yesterday and will run until February 13, is in response to appeals made by residents during last year’s hearings conducted by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence, Home Affairs, Security Services and War Veterans Affairs. The hearings revealed that many residents in peri-urban areas lacked essential documentation, which hindered their access to education, healthcare and other social services.

For many undocumented children, the issue is generational, as their parents and grandparents also lack birth certificates and identity cards. Several families in these areas relocated from the Killarney squatter camp, where their documents were lost or destroyed.

On the first day of the exercise, teams from the Civil Registry Department set up at St Peter’s Primary School, where they identified 86 learners without birth certificates. These children are now being assisted in securing proper documentation, a move expected to empower them and their families by granting them access to their legal rights.

Pumula legislator, Ms Sichelesile Mahlangu, expressed gratitude to the Civil Registry Department and the Government for facilitating this critical initiative.

“This registration drive is a direct response to the concerns raised by residents during public hearings last year. The people spoke, we listened, and we engaged the relevant authorities. We are grateful to the Civil Registry Department for responding to the call and coming to assist these communities,” she said.

Ms Mahlangu noted that many of the affected children are orphans living with their grandparents or are part of child-headed households.

“The response has been overwhelming, especially from child-headed families who often struggle with administrative hurdles. Many of these minors take on adult responsibilities at a young age and face challenges in providing for their siblings without proper identification documents,” she said.

Ms Mahlangu said she is optimistic that at the end of the registration blitz, hundreds of children and families would have received critical identification documents, enabling them to access essential services and opportunities.

St Peters Village chairperson, Mr Reginald Mkhosana, welcomed the initiative, saying the documentation crisis has long plagued their community. 

“In our area, the lack of documentation is a major issue, particularly for child-headed families whose parents did not have documents themselves. We are grateful that the Government has not forgotten us and has taken steps to address this problem,” he said. 

Beyond providing documentation, the mobile registration drive underscores the importance of inclusive governance and community support. Over the next several days, Civil Registry officials will be stationed at various locations to facilitate the registration process.

The teams will be at St Peter’s Primary School until Friday before moving to Robert Sinyoka Primary School on Saturday until next Monday.

They will then wrap up the exercise at Hyde Park Primary School from Tuesday to Thursday next week.