By Memory Mudzani
Children in Mzila community face challenges accessing birth certificates, with some parents delaying registration until their children reach Grade Seven, a community meeting has heard.
The delays have been attributed to long distances to the Registrar-General’s offices, financial constraints and difficulties faced by parents who lack identity documents themselves.
The concerns emerged during a meeting hosted by OYLID in collaboration with the Centre for Applied Legal Research (CALR) and the Alliance of Community-Based Organisations (ACBOs) in Mzila community along Silobela Road.
Village headman Paul Pombi urged parents to prioritise birth registration, saying a birth certificate was essential for establishing a child’s legal identity and accessing opportunities.
“Parents in rural communities face real daily struggles, from long travels to administrative centres to economic pressures, making birth certificate registration easy to postpone. However, a birth certificate is not merely a piece of paper but a fundamental key that unlocks a child’s basic human rights, social dignity and economic future,” said Pombi.
Community participant Pauline Ncube said some women gave birth at home and relied on traditional leaders to document the births before proceeding to the Registrar-General’s offices to obtain birth certificates.
However, she said some parents failed to complete the registration process, while others struggled to obtain birth certificates because they lacked identity documents themselves.
Ncube said parents often postponed registration until their children were preparing for Grade Seven, when the need for documentation became more urgent.
She also cited the cost of travelling to Kwekwe and delays at registration offices as barriers, alleging that some applicants were asked to return on subsequent days and in some cases, were told to pay bribes.
The allegations could not be independently verified.
Pombi warned that delayed birth registration could create difficulties for children as they progress through school, particularly when they need documentation for national examinations.
CALR representative Dickson Bheu said the organisation was advocating for greater access to registration services in rural communities, including the introduction of mobile registration offices.
He said taking registration services closer to communities would help reduce the challenges faced by families living far from administrative centres.
OYLID director Polite Ndhlovu said the organisation would raise awareness in Mzila about the importance of legal identity to encourage parents to register their children.
Ndhlovu also urged residents who experience alleged maladministration at registration offices to lodge complaints with the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC).
He said the commission could help address complaints concerning the treatment of citizens by government institutions.
The meeting highlighted the need to address barriers to birth registration in rural communities to ensure children obtain legal identity documents without unnecessary delays.
