• • • • • • • • • • • • • Birth registration offices are highly centralized, and communities with scarce resources endure financial hardships in accessing the sparse decentralized offices that issue birth certificates. In Bindura 241 (65%) adult respondents believe that the RGs office is generally inefficient. They stated that although the officials in that office “looked” busy all the time, they were actually inefficient. However, in Hurungwe 195 (52%) adult respondents indicated that they felt that the RG officials were doing their best whilst operating under very challenges circumstances and realities. 86% of adult respondents in Bindura District and 91% in Hurungwe District revealed that the mobile registrations conducted were very beneficial to those people in far away areas who could not travel to main registration centres. It came out that many people, especially in the farming areas and communal lands, obtained their registration documents during mobile registration exercises. A major process issue raised in the research was that some people, especially witnesses, failed to give what the RGs officials viewed as “correct or genuine responses”, thereby failing to get served. In Bindura 97% of respondents stated that the attitude and behaviour of officials in the RGs was despicable. It was said that they were rude and did not listen to people, often saying very harsh and uncaring words and comments to people who may have queued for hours or even days to get served. 54 adult respondents (28%) in Bindura noted that people failed to get registered because of not having the requisite documentation of birth notices as prescribed in the BDRA. The researchers noted that outside the RGs office in Bindura there was not even a single piece of paper that informed people about procedures they needed to follow for them to be registered. In both Bindura District 94% of respondents and 91% in Hurungwe Districts noted that the RGs office did not conduct awareness campaigns on birth registration. It was said that minor orphans faced the challenge of getting relatives who were prepared to help them get birth registration. It was noted that many children cannot sit for public examinations because generally, schools do not enroll children who do not have birth certificates. The research showed that some very talented unregistered children used their sibling’s birth certificates to be entered into school sporting activities and competitions. In Hurungwe District respondents said that they were not aware of any refugee children or population, although there were many non-Zimbabweans on the farms. Respondents revealed that the absence of birth registration documents or a birth certificate perpetuated a cycle of poverty, especially in the farms. 60 respondents or (84%) of those on the farms had no birth certificates. It was stated that in that regard, the advocacy campaigns needed to get the people to fully appreciate the centrality and critical importance of birth registration in their lives. Major Recommendations Birth Registration Research Report/2007 13