Zambia and Namibia commence collaboration to enhance civil registration systems

Staff Reporter

THE Registrar-General of the Zambian Government, Brenda Kabemba, and her delegation, are currently on a five-day study tour in Namibia to initiate the process of enhancing the Zambian and Namibian civil registration systems through information-sharing and collaboration.

Kabemba’s delegation consists of several officials from the Zambian National Registration, Passport and Citizenship Department.

Welcoming Kabemba and her delegation to Namibia, the Executive Director (ED) of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety, and Security, Etienne Maritz, explained that the study tour marks the initial phase in fulfilling the goal for Zambian and Namibian registration authorities to learn from each other by sharing views to improve registration systems in both countries.

He added that this is one of the resolutions adopted at the 24th Session of the Zambia-Namibia Joint Permanent Commission (JPC) on Defence and Security, which took place earlier this year in Livingstone, Zambia. This resolution stipulated that Namibian and Zambian civil registration authorities should conduct exchange visits to learn from each other, with Zambia initiating the first visit before December 2023.

Maritz said that the ongoing study tour also fulfils recommendation 5.3 of the Experts Segment of the Fifth Conference of Ministers responsible for Civil Registration in Africa (COM5), under the auspices of the African Union (AU). This recommendation encourages AU member states to share lessons and experiences when implementing a digital system to enhance their civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems.

“These goals are ultimately aimed at improving our respective civil registration systems with a view to better serve our people. This visit is therefore not a stand-alone event. It is connected to the bigger picture, which is the advancement of civil registration in this great continent,” Maritz added.

Maritz further explained that the study tour also aims to enable participants to assess the progress made in implementing the resolutions from the latest Zambia-Namibia JPC and to formulate practical implementation plans, as well as remedial interventions, to ensure that all resolutions are implemented before the next Zambia-Namibia JPC.

Apart from the study tours, the resolutions from the latest Zambia-Namibia JPC also include equipping the Mwandi and Sesheke Civil Registration offices with the capacity to print and issue birth certificates to prevent cases of undocumented individuals and the risk of statelessness. Additionally, there are plans to conduct awareness activities along the common border of the two countries regarding the importance of birth registration and the requirements by 31 December 2023.

Furthermore, the 24th Zambia-Namibia JPC resolved that the civil registration authorities of both countries should develop Standard Operating Procedures for birth registration in district offices along the common border. The resolutions also call for immigration authorities to engage in the need for border passes for mothers who give birth across the border.

Maritz highlighted the importance of these resolutions by emphasising the crucial role that civil registration authorities play in strengthening the security of countries, calling on these authorities to take their roles as change-makers seriously.

“As Civil Registration Authorities, you play an important role in strengthening the security of countries. Many times, you are the candlelight in a dark room where many people are trapped in suffering and hopelessness due to lack of national documents. I am speaking to the experts in civil registration, I therefore do not need to highlight what lack of documents means for people. Without your work, legal identity will not be established and the fulfilment of UN sustainable development goal 16.9 will remain out of reach. You are therefore not just salary collectors but change makers,” Maritz added.