Connect Stories Reporter
The Zimbabwean government has responded to the challenges faced by people in communal areas who are unable to access birth records and death certificates, by allowing chiefs to issue these documents.
The government has partnered with traditional leaders to ensure that people living in villages can obtain their documents locally instead of travelling to government offices with witnesses to access them. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Dr Gerald Gwinji explained that traditional leaders will be trained first, before the programme is operationalised next year.
National Chiefs Council President, Chief Fortune Charumbira, welcomed the development and emphasized that people’s dignity will be restored. The government seeks to ensure that issuance of these important documents is done in accordance with the law, and training of traditional leaders on the process is currently underway.