GEARS Initiative Zambia says it is taken aback, dismayed by and disagrees with the position taken by the Ministry of Home Affairs to stop organisations and individuals interested in monitoring the issuance of National Registration Cards in Zambia to do so.
Organisation Executive Director McDonald Chipenzi says organisations or citizens do not need accreditation to monitor or conduct sensitisation programmes on the issuance of NRCs going on around the country as this is their civic duty, right and responsibility.
Mr Chipenzi says instead, the Ministry should have been happy and encouraging those organisations, institutions and individuals intending to do so at their own cost to proceed to enhance credibility, transparency and accountability in the process.
He says demanding for accreditation to monitor the execrise is courting suspicions and is asking stakeholders not to also participate in the community awareness raising on the need for those eligible to turn out in numbers to obtain the NRCs since these stakeholders will not be accredited.
Mr Chipenzi has reminded the Ministry that citizens have a constitutional right, duty and responsibility to hold any public institutions including the Ministry of Home Affairs accountable.
“This is meant to foster high-level transparency and accountability in the process since it is part of public service delivery chain system”, he said.
Mr Chipenzi says this issuance of NRCs exercise is not an ordinary exercise but one done for the purpose of facilitating for the registration of voters for the 2021 Elections.
He said there is no need for any organisation to be accredited to monitor any public service delivery process and therefore no point for the Ministry to stop anyone from monitoring the exercise.
“In any case, the political parties, both the ruling and opposition, are key stakeholders and beneficiaries to this exercise, especially that, this time, NRC issuance exercise is meant to accord citizens especially the youths to register as voters”, he added.
Mr Chipenzi says he finds such utterance and directive to stop interested organisations to monitor the exercise not only surprising, scary but against the established norm and past practices.
“This is not the first time when such an exercise has happened ahead of a major election and in all past exercises, stakeholders were allowed to monitor the exercise at their own cost. What is so special with this year’s exercise for the Ministry to attempt to stop stakeholders from monitoring the exercise? What does it want to do with exercise? Weren’t internal validation mechanisms there in the past when stakeholders were allowed to monitor the exercise?”, he said.
Mr Chipenzi has called on the Ministry to seriously reflect on its statement before it jeopardizes the good intention of the exercise and stakeholders cooperation in the process.
He said with persistent allegations of the exercise having the potential to capture foreigners especially in border areas, stopping stakeholders from monitoring the exercise will heighten the allegations against the Ministry of trying to issue such documents to foreigners.
Mr Chipenzi however said that GEARS Initiative appreciates the decision by the Ministry to allow those without birth certificates and underfive cards to participate in this exercise as long as they prove that they are eligible.
He said his Organisation further agrees with the Ministry that those who want to oversee the exercise should not use intimidation or harass the issuing officers as that is interfering with the process but instead bring any observable inadequacies to relevant authorities.
I know you want to remain relevant, however, your concerns are genuine. In a long time you have made sense because more often than not you are a UPND cadre under the veil of civil society!
Why prevent or demand accreditation from known stakeholders? All the stakeholders want is to ensure that NRCs are not issued to foreigners for purposes of rigging. I hope the accreditation process is not marred by cadres in any way!
The problem is that almost everything is being seen in the light of winning or losing elections. How can an NGO in its right senses request to monitor the issuance of NRCs? Should they also monitor the issuance of passports? These are exercises that should be left to officers that are employed to it if we’re to rid ourselves of the practice that was left by the MMD who always promised Congolese of citizenship if at all they won elections. We’re destroying our country. Let’s for once do the right thing. These institutions are being rendered ineffective by the day by politicians. Amos Mulupenga has announced formation of integrity committees when we have internal auditors in place, what’ll be the role of internal auditors?
Chipenzi it’s not a crime to come out as a full pledged upnd supporter. As I stated yesterday, we can’t allow an environment of intimidation to exist while government workers do their job, all for the sake of upnds insecurities. It is like a man who has a tiny p.e.n.is who then hires spy to keep tabs on his wife out of fear she might leave him for a well endowed man. Not practical. Politics is not for weak minds. Quit it
Chipenzi it’s not a crime to come out as a full pledged upnd supporter. As I stated yesterday, we can’t allow an environment of intimidation to exist while government workers do their job, all for the sake of upnds insecurities. It is like a man who has a tiny mb0l0 who then hires spy to keep tabs on his wife out of fear she might leave him for a well endowed man. Not practical. Politics is not for weak minds. Kaizar
The chap just has to say something ….bcoz he is Tonga and wants HH to win 2021! That what drives his thinking and living on earth! sorry chap.
Very annoying. Each time he opens his mouth, he yaps non.sense with no reason at all. He is better coming out and confessing that his is a tribal ngo.
Macdonald Chipenzi, what is wrong with asking GEARS to get accreditation to monitor the NRC issuance exercise if your motives are good? Just get accreditation but don’t do it to look for problems. Get it to help improve the exercise
Mwebantu sure these tights it applies to everything. Why don’t they monitor this exercise every day at the Department responsible for the NRC in the District because it is the daily exercise . That is the problem when the Country is run by the so called NGOs. Since when NGOs and Civil society
Why were they not doing sensitisation as NGO all this time and only to start now?
Why is there only a ‘massive’ drive for this NRC exercise when the big election is around the corner? This should just be part of the usual civil service work all year round. Not allowing ‘monitors’ when you supposedly have nothing t hide, only increases the suspicion. In any case, the track record of this untrustworthy regime, is there for all to see.
The CONCERN from GEARS is GENUINE!BUT you should have PLANNED for and STARTED this MUCH,MUCH EARLIER so that the issues you are grappling with now would have long been settled.As you are fighting now,the process is already underway with possibilities of malpractices being committed! PLEASE BE PROACTIVE AND PLAN TO CHECK THESE GUYS AT EVERY STAGE OF THIS ELECTION PREPARATION!!