MUTARE- The groundbreaking ceremony for the multi-million dollar Mutare
Provincial Civil Registry Offices was held last week with works on the state of
the art offices expected to be completed in May 2024.
This is part of the Second Republic’s vision to have infrastructure development
offering goods and services closer to the people in line with the policy of
leaving no one and no place behind.
Once opened, the Mutare Provincial Registry office will bring relief to
thousands of citizens living in Manicaland who have had to encounter extra
transport costs to access e-passports in either Chipinge or Marondera.
Registrar General Henry Machiri said the construction of the Mutare Civil
Registry offices dovetails with Government’s thrust towards an upper middle
income economy by 2030 by decentralising services and bringing them closer to
the people.
He said the department had recently made significant strides towards such
initiatives with all 10 provinces and 63 districts as well as 202 civil registry sub
offices set up countrywide.
“The idea now is to have at least one district office per province to assist the
provincial office as we work towards a second round of establishing district
offices and bring services as close as possible to the people of Zimbabwe,” he
said.
Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony, Minister of Home Affairs and
Cultural Heritage, Kazermbe Kazembe, represented by his deputy, Ruth
Mavhungu-Maboyi, said good quality infrastructure was important in inclusive
growth of the nation.
“Infrastructure development remains central in achieving vision 2030. Ideally
good quality infrastructure is important not only to foster economic growth but
to also ensure inclusive growth which will benefit the majority. It is worthy
noting that construction of registry buildings will enable decentralisation of

services and enhance service delivery for the benefit of the Zimbabwean
populace,” said Minister Kazembe.
He further pointed out the need and importance of safe and reliable storage
infrastructure for one of the country’s important documents as these were the
defining documents of all Zimbabwean nationals.
“The old buildings are increasing the risk of damage to our live records. We call
them live records because they do not expire and they are constantly referred to
even after a period of more than 50 years. My ministry is therefore committed
to building more registry offices an initiative which will go a long way in
addressing the issue of limited office accommodation and ensure that vital civil
registration records are preserved in a secure environment,” he said.
Minister of Provincial Affairs and Devolution in Manicaland, Nokuthula
Matsikenyere who was represented by Director for Economic Development in
the office of Permanent Secretary for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and
Devolution, Munyaradzi Rubaya, welcomed the development which she cited as
long overdue and quite deserving for the large populace the province holds.
Manicaland is home to a population of over two million residents and
imperative that the province holds a state of the art civil registry office. These
are the very same offices that officially give a person identity and terminate it
upon passing on. Administratively these are important documents to be acquired
in one s lifetime and ought to be issued with dignity," she said.
Mutare Provincial Registry Offices are currently housed in old dilapidated
wooden structures which are not conducive for efficient service delivery.
The buildings have become inhabitable and significantly posing danger to
human life as snakes have become a common sight in the offices.