The ManicaPost
Abel Zhakata Senior Reporter
WHILE the current incessant heavy rains have brought joy to farmers countrywide, the downpours are a nightmare to workers at the Manicaland Provincial Registrar’s offices who have to mop flooded offices daily as dilapidated makeshift structures at the complex give in to the vagaries of weather.
Important civil registry documents are in danger as water levels rise due to poor drainage at the site.
When The Manica Post visited the complex on Monday morning, workers were busy mopping their offices following Sunday night’s downpour.
Some electrical gadgets were submerged in water.
Apart from the flooding problem, the wooden structures are being destroyed by termites that are slowly eating away the base of the buildings.
Workers who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity said documents were no longer safe.
“We pray that violent winds will not hit the city because these structures are on the verge of collapsing. As you can see our offices are flooding and we mop them each time there is a downpour,” said one of the officials.
The registry does not have permanent structures and has been operating from the temporary wooden structures for years.
Provincial registrar, Ms Joyce Munamati, described the situation as deplorable.
“As you have seen it for yourselves, the situation is bad and we hope that new structures will be constructed soon,” she said. Ms Munamati recently told Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe during the official opening of the MurambindaCivil Registry Sub-office that the state of the structures at the registry is embarrassing and does not reflect the importance of the institution.
“We have temporary wooden structures at the provincial office and these structures are now worn out and dilapidated. They were constructed with the understanding that we wouldhave permanent structures within two years. However, we are still waiting for the permanent structures to be constructed. The temporary wooden structures are now heavily affected by termites and rodents and records are now exposed to adverse effects of these,” she said.
Ms Munamati said the structures are no longer safe for human habitation and could endanger the lives of employees as they could collapse any time since they are being eaten by termites from the bottom.
She said the Department of Public Works was engaged to come up with a bill of quantities needed for permanent structures to be constructed at the provincial offices.
“They have given us the bill of quantities which we have since submitted to Makombe Building for consideration and we hope construction of permanent structures will commence as a matter of urgency,” she said.
Minister Kazembe concurred with her sentiments and said the state of the provincial offices is shocking and should be addressed as soon as possible.
“I didn’t expect the provincial offices to have such offices, so we will discuss further to see how we can deal with this,” he said.
He said provision of civil registry services is vital for the attainment of Vision 2030 and reiterated Government’s commitment to improving service delivery in line with the ease of doing business policy.
The Civil Registry Department is responsible for issuing vital registration documents and travel documents that include birth certificates, national identity documents, citizenship, passports, death certificates, burial orders and livestock brand certificates, among others.
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