North-West PIC, Councils Commit To Enhance Civil Status Governance
One year after a Campaign to Promote the Free Issuance of Civil Status Documents, the Public Independent Conciliator met with Mayors and Civil Status Secretaries on 5th December 2024.
The essence was to emphasize on the issuance, management and regulation of civil status registration as a vital activity of the State, given that the effective and efficient keeping of Civil Status records is important for legal identity, citizenship and access to rights and freedoms by every individual in the community.
The Public Independent Conciliator hammered on the vice of extortion, asking Mayors and Civil Status Secretaries to refrain from this habit. Making them to understand that meeting with them was to ensure that Councils in the North-West Region operate with the highest standards of efficiency and accuracy in civil status management.
The work session targeted Council authorities who are key in the civil status registration process.
The Regional Chief of BUNEC, Mr Levi Fongen did a presentation on Civil Status Registration: Roles and Responsibilities of Stakeholders and Mr Ndi Nelson, Research Officer no. 1 of the Office of the Public Independent Conciliator did a kind of refresher course on the 2023 campaign, revealing the shortcomings, lessons learnt and Prospects.
Though these participants complained about the challenges faced at the level of the courts in establishing court judgements and at the level of BUNEC getting booklets to effectively issue birth certificates. It is expected that after the working session with the Public Independent Conciliator, Mayors and Civil Status Secretaries, who are duty bearers will understand the importance of an easy accessible and free civil status registration process to the population and the nation at large.
Mayors and civil status secretaries left the meeting with an understanding of the legal framework governing the civil status registration process and pledged to make civil status services available to the population.
