18 Aug 2019

Faulty or incomplete official data should not render any life unnoticed especially that such data is used to guide policy makers.

Officiating at the second African Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) day at Rakops recently, Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs Minister, Mr Ngaka Ngaka said the demand for registration services was weak because many people were not adequately informed on the importance of civil registration and the implications it had on improving access to core government services.

He said African CRVS helped improve public awareness on the importance of making everyone visible through universal birth registration and certification.

The day, which Mr Ngaka said was a first of its kind in Botswana, was a collaborative exercise of four key institutions being the Ministries of Health and Wellness, Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs, Administration of Justice and Statistics Botswana with the responsibility of delivering services on birth, death, marriage and divorce.

The theme; Birth Certificates for All, Fundamental for Protecting Human Rights and Promoting Inclusion, Mr Ngaka said reflected that a birth registration certificate was a legal document with proof of age and therefore helped to prevent violations of children’s rights, including child marriages, child labour, trafficking and use as child soldiers.

He said there was need for collaboration and cooperation of stakeholders involved to harmonise efforts as improved CRVS would strategically position Botswana to have accurate data in readiness for the 2030 Development Agenda.

Mr Ngaka therefore, implored parents to ensure that births were registered on time. “I appeal to you to advocate for and promote CRVS at home and the workplace,” said Minister Ngaka.

As a way of encouraging collection of vital statistics, he said parents must be encouraged to deliver their babies at health facilities so that all new babies could be captured.

He said a new born baby must acquire a birth certificate within 60 days after birth.

Mr Ngaka said registration of births and acquiring identity cards by those aged 16 years and above was at 94.5 per cent.

He said statistics captured, gender, age and population demographics and therefore informed the development agenda.

Mr Ngaka said in 2003 government introduced a computerised system that captured births and deaths and had been operational without fail.

He was concerned that some were still sluggish to register births and deaths hence misleading the development agenda since the available data was inaccurate.

Some people, he said registered deaths when there was personal benefit and others do so to process monetary claims from the deceased savings.

Mr Ngaka said children who were not registered were likely to be excluded from getting a share of their parents’ inheritance.

Meanwhile general statistician, Ms Malebogo Kerekang said available data revealed that 10 per cent of children were not registered and further indicated that registration of births and deaths were reported to be low in Boteti West hence the need to raise awareness on the importance of updating statistics.

The event served as education and motivation to the community to register births, deaths and even weddings so that no one would be left behind in the development agenda. ENDS