CMD cautions NRB on registration process
Center for Multiparty Democracy, (CMD) has cautioned the National Registration Bureau, (NRB) to ensure that the national identity registration process is clear, fair and transparent.
Burning issues concerning registration processes at NRB came to light as the bureau officials held an interface meeting in Mponela, Dowa district with representatives from different parties forming CMD secretariat to present a report on the ongoing national mop-up registration as well as plan for national identity registration citizen mobilization across the country.
According to National Statistical Office, (NSO) over 50% of the country’s population is above 18 years of age which gives an opportunity for NRB per their mandate of registering people who are above 16 years of age to register with a huge number.
In this regards, according to the report outcomes on the ongoing national mop-up registration it is indicating that NRB has done a significant work per their mandate as they have already register about 12 million people who are above 16 years of age across the country which according to CMD secretariat these are false figures as they claim to be more people who are not yet registered with the bureau.
In response to this, Secretary General for United Transformation Movement, (UTM) Patricia Kaliati emphasized on the issue of under-registering in most parts of the country more presisly in the districts of Northern and Central part of the country.
She also made an allegation that in other centers, officers where given targets not to exceed per day which has resulted into under-registering at this moment.
But commenting on the allegations, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Homeland Security Affairs Mphatso Sambo highlighted that due to the processes undertaken to register one person, (which takes about 3-5 minutes), the machine managed to register at least 100 people per day which makes it to be difficult for many people to be registered in a single day.
On the numbers registered within the region, the PS says this is in regard to the population within the region as districts such as Lilongwe in the central region has higher population comparing to other districts.
But the PS was also quick to react that as per their mandate, every Malawian who is illegible to be registered will be registered at an appropriate time as they will be working in open and transparent manner.
On the other hand Secretary General for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made claims that he has evidence based figures that youths in his constituency are under-registered and he made a proposal to the meeting that NRB should find ways of going back to the areas and re-work on the national identity registration process for more population to be reached out.
According to the report presentation it shows that certain district including; Mulanje, Mwanza Mzimba, Neno, Nkhota-kota, Nkhata-Bay, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Phalombe just to mention a few, have surpassed targets in the registration process.
On another response, chairperson for the CMD, Elias Chakwera admitted that despite NRB surpassing targets there has to be a quick solution to map the way forward for those who were left to be assisted and that which the PS and NRB officials agreed to look into the matter.
Jean Mathanga, Presidential advisor on Election for DPP also conquered with Chakwera that there has to be pludent action to be taken.
“I propose that NRB should be working together with Malawi Electrol Commission, (MEC) as they start voter registration processes, so that NRB also should be registering the remaining population following the phases of registration period which MEC will be using,” Mathanga said.
Commenting on that PS for Homeland Security Affairs Mphatso Sambo said;
“Let me clarify that NRB by law has got it’s own mandate which is very much separated by that of Malawi Electro Commission, so I might not be able to speak on behalf of electro processes, for NRB registration is a continuous registration meaning that our offices are available for people to come for registration when they have reached the mandatory age of 16, anybody can come to NRB and registered, so we cannot start a new process because MEC is starting voter registration, if that is decided then it is going to be MEC deciding not NRB to decide as an electro process,” Sambo said.
NRB has the mandate to manage and maintain National Registration Identification System, (NRIS) in Malawi.
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