BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– The Ministry of Home Affairs continues to explore ways of making the life of emaSwati easy.
As means of mitigating the long queues, the above-mentioned ministry is in the process of decentralising its most sought-after services.
The recently opened Gege Service Centre is one of the successfully executed newly decentralised service centres. It offers birth, marriage, and death registration (BMD), issuance of IDs, pins, driver’s licenses, and revenue services.
Worth noting is that Gege is a small growing town with increasing economic activity.
Confirming the new Gege Service Centre was National Civil Registrar Russell Nxumalo.
Worth noting is that the Ministry of Home Affairs has been hailed for improving customer service.
About a month ago, we published that the above-mentioned ministry sent out a public service announcement (PSA) through SMSs, revealing that people can now pay through Mobile Money.
“Great news! You can pay your ID, birth certificate, marriage certificate, and death certificate through MoMo,” read the announcement.
The PSA further revealed that people should dial *468# to pay, explaining that they should SMS STOP to 2627 to opt out.
Worth noting is that in the past, locals had to pay at the nearest Revenue Offices to get the above-mentioned services. The queues were generally known to be long and tedious.
When contacted for comment, the Ministry of Home Affairs Communications Officer, Mlandvo Dlamini, confirmed the new initiatives, however stating that he could not comment any further as he was engaged.
The ministry is also in the process of implementing revamped civil registration system.
This simply means long queues and network disturbances will soon be a thing of the past.
When sought for comment on this regard, the National Civil Registrar, Russell Nxumalo, confirmed that the ministry was implementing a revamped civil registration system that sought to make the registration of vital events ( births, marriages, and deaths) not only easier but user friendly and also shorter. “Our (2022 – 2026) Strategic Plan and the National Civil Registration and Vital Statistics Bill, 2022 will address the digitization and modernization of the department so that it confirms to international standards such as World Health Organization (WHO) ICD 11 and the Sustainable Development Goals, target 16. 9 on legal identity,” briefly commented Nxumalo.
