04 Mar 2018

National Council on Population and Development chairperson, Ms Irene Kwape says completeness in the official recording of births, deaths, marriages and other vital events is necessary for all developments.

Speaking at the Chobe population seminar held under the theme, Completeness of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics recently, Ms Kwape said the completeness of registration provided vital statistics that served the planning and monitoring needs of all developments.

Ms Kwape said incomplete or lack of registration impeded proper planning and it was crucial that stakeholders engaged in debates that could address the challenges. 

She said such seminars sought collective interventions to improve the quality of life and standard of living of individuals and communities in Botswana.

Chobe District population officer, Ms Olefile Maikaelelo said in the district the registration of births was done by data clerks at Kasane Primary Hospital, Kachikau and Pandamatenga clinics and completed forms were sent to Civil and National Registration (CNR) office in Kasane for data capturing and issuance of certificates.

Ms Maikaelelo said the registration of deaths followed the same process at the health institutions by the health practitioner.

She however, said there was still lack of knowledge on the importance of registration of deaths in the district. 

She also observed that in case of births, in some instances mothers were discharged without registering. 

Ms Maikaelelo said despite the decentralisation of registration, some members of the community still registered only when the need arose such as when a child went to school or when a beneficiary of the deceased wanted to process a claim from the insurance company or for other benefits.

She said 22 per cent of the total number of deaths registered between 2013 and 2017 in Chobe was delayed. 

Ms Maikaelelo explained that deaths should be registered within 30 days while births should be registered within 60 days.

In his presentation of behalf of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, Ghanzi District population officer, Mr Thatayaone Maithamako said while in 2016 the office made great strides in birth registration in most areas, birth registration among some minority groups remained a challenge. 

He further said the registration of customary and religious marriages remained a challenge.

Mr Maithamako said there were still some pockets of unregistered vulnerable children in Botswana, especially in areas that were hardest to reach and the children often fell short of enjoying fulfilment of their fundamental rights that included health, education and other amenities.

He cited that remote areas in Okavango, Ghanzi, Kgalagadi North and Kweneng West sub-regions experience difficulties in accessing civil registration centres, thereby placing them among the districts with lowest birth registration coverage.

An official of the Population and Development Coordination section of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Patrick Seitiso said there was need by all stakeholders to play their part in domesticating and implementing SDGs in all developmental projects and programmes. 

Mr Seitiso said Botswana was one of the 43 countries that volunteered to be reviewed by the UN High Level Political Forum and as such would be reviewed every seven years until 2030. 

He said the country had aligned its National Development Plan 11 to SDG goals of ending poverty in all its forms everywhere, ending hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, ensuring healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, achieving gender equality and empower all women and girls, building resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation for sustainable development. 

Chobe District Council chairperson, Mr Paul Chabaesele appealed to stakeholders to work together in coming up with solutions to the problems of wildlife and help eradicate poverty. 

He appreciated that the constituency development fund projects were aligned to SDGs and he implored all to ensure they supported government’s initiatives towards eradicating poverty.

Councillor Chabaesele highlighted the need for the Chobe Brigade and the Construction Industry Trust Fund (CITF) to align their programmes to address the skills needs of the district. ENDS