05 Jun 2018

Residents of Palapye and surrounding villages, whose identity cards are expiring this year, have been urged to renew them even six months before expiry.

Addressing councillors during the ongoing Palapye Administration Authority Sub-council meeting on Monday, regional national registration officer, Mr Mosalagae Disang said 6 423 cards were expected to expire this year.

He said of these, only 2 183 had been renewed, urging those affected to renew their cards, noting that registration for the 2019 general elections kicks off in September. Mr Disang said his office was working around the clock to ensure that no citizen was denied the right to vote as a result of an expired card.

He urged councillors to plead with their electorates to renew their cards on time.

Mr Disang further said his office had taken the decision to ensure proper recording of dates of birth by doing away with recording xx/xx where the date of birth was not available.

He said for those who knew their birth dates, an affidavit in lieu of a birth certificate would be used, while a savingram would be used for those elderly people who do not have declarants.

He said his office would assist those who do not know their exact birth dates to estimate using a calendar of events, or any information that they may have, adding that the applicant and declarant must write statements explaining all the information they had. In the event that no information was available, the date of birth should be recorded as 01/01, said Mr Disang.

The office, he said, had also taken a decision not to charge minors and vulnerable groups for providing inconsistent information or late registration.

He said where the applicant was registered by parents and the information was found to be inaccurate, the parents, not the child or applicant, should be charged, adding that if the parent was deceased, provision of certified copy of death would be done.

Mr Disang said the department had a large number of uncollected cards countrywide, and that a decision had been taken to renew identity cards in a period less than six months and not 11 as it used to be. Palapye, he said, has 700 uncollected cards, 162 of which were for people below 18 years. 

Mr Disang also briefed councillors about the National Registration Act amendments, saying that it was an offence to be in possession of another person’s identity card as security for a debt obligation.

“A person who is guilty of this offence,” he said “shall be liable to a fine not exceeding P1 500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both.”

Furthermore, Mr Disang said where an identity card which had been lost was found, the owner shall return it to the registrar of national registration for cancellation and destruction.

Councillors thanked the national registration department for briefing them on the new amendments on the act as well as administrative amendments.

They thanked the officers of national registration office in Palapye for doing an outstanding job, adding that a lot of people who had no identity cards had been issued cards.

Councillors also requested the office to work around the clock to ensure that renewal of identity cards for people eligible to register for elections was done smoothly so that they were not disenfranchised. ENDS