Police report fees removal triggers higher voter registration prospects

Police report fees removal triggers higher voter registration prospects
By Mwala Kalaluka in Lusaka and Sandra Lombe in Livingstone
Mon 05 July 2010, 03:40 CAT

ASAMA Archdiocese administrator Fr Ignatius Mwebe yesterday said financial obstacles have discouraged people from registering as voters in the ongoing Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) voter registration exercise.

And over 650 people have registered as voters in Livingstone since the voter registration exercise began on June 21, 2010.

Meanwhile, Fr Mwebe has wondered how small-scale farmers in some remote parts of the Northern Province will transport their maize produce to the markets on a pathetic road network.

Fr Mwebe said in an interview from Kasama that Caritas Kasama was currently in the field to ensure that many citizens in the area registered as voters in the ongoing exercise.

He said he was yet to get a detailed report from Caritas Kasama on how the voter registration exercise was progressing.

However, Fr Mwebe said he was very aware of the initial demand on the people to pay about K10, 500 for a police report for lost voters cards.

“And here in the rural areas K10, 500 it’s like K100, 000. The moment you talk about that people forget the whole thing (voter registration),” Fr Mwebe said. “It was a big obstacle.”
Fr Mwebe said now that the demand on the people to pay K10, 500 for lost voter registration card had been discouraged, a lot of people would register as voters.

“That would improve on the number of people turning up for voter registration,” Fr Mwebe said.

He also said there were still a lot of development challenges in the remotest parts of Kasama Archdiocese.

“I go round a lot and in the remotest parts of this huge area, you find a lot of challenges, especially in terms of infrastructure development,” Fr Mwebe said. “In the remotest parts for that matter that is where you find a lot of harvest, especially this time but then you look at the road network and you just wonder how these things are going to be taken to the market.”

Fr Mwebe said whilst the inter-provincial roads were constantly being worked on, the story was different in the outlying areas.

“When you go to these farming areas, the road is pathetic,” he said.
Fr Mwebe said in most rural areas of Kasama Archdiocese, socio-economic development activities were usually concentrated around mission centres.

“That is where you find any kind of meaningful social-economic activities. You can move kilometers without seeing any sign of progress but when you come to the mission stations you find some sense of development,” said Fr Mwebe.

“We (church) are on the ground in the most difficult areas to reach.”

And a check at Libala and Nalituwe basic schools in Livingstone revealed that people were still registering.

Some officers found at the centres said there was progress in the voter registration exercise compared to the first two days.

Assistant district registration officer Nelson Sakala, in an interview on Wednesday, said the response was quite good.

He said the announcements and sensitisation was helping people to register.
“Initially the turnout wasn’t that good but of late, the response has been quite good,” he said.

Sakala said the polling centres captured in the first five wards include Nalituwe and Libala basic schools, Victoria Hall, old Boma, Rainbow Africa, Bible School, Government Stores, Apostolic Faith Church and New Life Church.

He said on the first day of registration, Nalituwe and Libala registered one person each while Victoria Hall had five and the rest of the centres recorded no registration at all.

Sakala said there had been an increase in the number of people registering as voters in all the polling centres.

“As at yesterday (Tuesday), we had 652. It is overwhelming, there is an increase in all the centres, more are coming to register and we expect a rise,” he said.

He said the rise could also be attributed to the removal of fees for police reports charged on those that lost their voters cards and national registration cards.

“…the police reports are free for the 90 days of the voter registration exercise,” said Sakala. “We are shifting on 3rd July to Kariba, Nansanzu and Maramba wards for 12 days.”