22 Aug 2024

In a significant move to enhance public welfare, legislators have fully backed the repeal and re-enactment, with amendments, of the Births and Deaths Registration Act.

Supporting the Births and Deaths Registration Bill on Monday, Molepolole North MP, Mr Oabile Regoeng emphasised the critical need to address the registration gaps that existed, particularly in rural areas.

“Looking at Part three of the Bill which states the compulsory registration of births, still-births and deaths, it is very important because a lot of children especially at masimo are not registered, and the ministry should conduct intensive public education on the importance of registering a new born,” Mr Regoeng said.

He said that would avoid a situation that could lead to significant implications for resource distribution and national planning.

He urged the Minister of Labour and Home Affairs to decentralise the process of registering births and deaths.

“Currently, most people are forced to travel long distances to Gaborone, which can be both time-consuming and costly and decentralising this process would ease the burden on citizens, making it more convenient for them to fulfil these essential legal requirements,” he said.

Moreover, Mr Regoeng proposed that it should be made compulsory by law for both parents to be named on birth certificates.

He highlighted the plight of numerous children who suffered due to the absence of paternal identification on their birth records, which often led to challenges in seeking child maintenance.

“There are a number of children who suffer because they do not know their fathers, and this situation contributes to the backlog in magistrate courts dealing with child maintenance cases,” he said, adding that such a law could help alleviate those issues and ensure better legal protection for children.

He added that the Bill should also contain a section where it was compulsory to allow the other parent access to their children.

Gaborone Central MP, Mr Tumisang Mangwegape-Healy said the issue of registration was a thorn in most people’s lives due to complications that went along with the process of registering, correcting or other such incidental matters. “I want to express my gratitude for the section on late registration of births, still-births and deaths occurring outside Botswana,” he said.

He noted that such amendments could bring much-needed relief to citizens who have had to navigate the bureaucratic and logistical hurdles involved in regularizing such events.

He drew attention to the emotional and administrative challenges faced by families during significant life events, such as births and deaths, especially when such events occurred away from their usual place of residence.

“Whether events of great joy or sorrow, for example, a birth or death, it is possible at times for one to be caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to regularising such events, especially if it occurred outside one’s normal place of abode,” he said.

He also highlighted the burden faced by families when a loved one died outside of Botswana, arguing that in such situations, the process of repatriating the body and dealing with the associated legal requirements could be cumbersome and costly.

“For a lot of Batswana, this issue has become cumbersome, where your loved one dies outside of the country and you have to deal with the costs of repatriating the body back to the country as well as all the legalities that come with it,” he said.

He expressed optimism that the proposed amendments would significantly ease such challenges, providing much-needed relief to affected families.

Meanwhile, MP for Okavango, Mr Kenny Kapinga said the Bill did not contain any clause for persons who did not have the means to pay for birth registration.

He said in his constituency, there were a number of locals who did not have the means to pay for such services and social workers were not in any position to offer help in such instances.

Mr Kapinga proposed that the Bill be amended to include provisions that would exempt those unable to pay from the registration fees, ensuring that financial barriers did not prevent anyone from accessing the vital service.

Responding to legislators’ contributions, Minister of Labour and Home Affairs, Honourable Annah Mokgethi said that under the new law, issuance of birth certificates would be managed by the registrar and not the courts, as was currently the practice.

“This change is intended to make the process more accessible to ordinary citizens by streamlining it and eliminating the need for the costly and time-consuming court procedures,” Honourable Mokgethi said.

On the issue regarding parental access to children, Minister Mokgethi noted that the issue was under the jurisdiction of the local government and rural development ministry, as it was governed by the Children’s Act. ENDS