Maravi

Youths complain of corruption by NRC issuing officers

Youths complain of corruption by NRC issuing officers
By Moses Kuwema
Sat 08 May 2010, 04:10 CAT

SOME youths in Munali Constituency have observed that many people might not manage to get their National Registration Cards (NRCs) because of limited manpower and corruption in some cases.

The youths say the few people tasked to issue NRCs may not manage to attend to all the people because there were long queues forming at the centres as early as 04:00 hours and people were being turned away unnecessarily.

One of the youths talked to at Chelstone centre yesterday, Eric Mungani, complained that the process was cumbersome.

“I came here three days ago and the process being used is not good. You first get a form like the way it’s done with passports then afterwards you go back home to fill it and when you do that, you attach photocopies of the your parents’ NRCs, then you come back to stand on the queue,” Mungani explained.

Another youth talked to Annie Mubita complained about the lack of manpower.

“The process is very slow because there is less manpower. I think they should have prepared enough by having more people unlike this because we have a lot of people as you can see from the queues here,” she said.

Mubita said she was not hopeful of getting her NRC because of the way things were moving.

“Another thing that is of concern is the issue of favouritism where we have people who just come for the first time and they are given the NRC. It’s like the people are being paid in order for them to issue NRCs fast,” Mubita said.

She said there was need for the government to set up more mobile registration centres to enable more people get NRCs.

“The way things are, we will have more people who will be unable to get NRCs and they will have to come back another year and I’m sure by then they would be old and it will be difficult for them to get the NRC,” Mubita said.

Felistus Phiri, a parent who took her two children and three other dependents to the registration centre, complained that she has been going to the centre for four days but had not managed to get the NRCs.

“They keep sending us back, telling us ‘come back tomorrow’. My appeal is to the government to pay attention to this because some of us wake up as early as 04:00 hours and they keep sending us back,” she said.

Phiri complained that her three dependants were sent back on the basis that they needed to be accompanied by their parents.

“My young sister’s children were sent back to bring their parents but how is a child going to bring his parents if he or she is an illegitimate child and some of the children don’t even know their parents,” Phiri said.

At Kaunda Square Basic School, some people who were found on the queues accused MMD officials in the constituency of assisting their members to get the NRCs fast.

“They started on Saturday, they are getting papers from MMD members and they are taking them inside fast and they are working with the police who are in charge here,” said one of the complainants who sought anonymity for fear of victimisation.

Labels: NATIONAL REGISTRATION CARDS, YOUTHS

posted by MrK @ 4:18 AM