Government and UNICEF are currently finalising a project intended to ensure that all births in far flung areas in the hinterland are registered, according to Minister of Citizenship Winston Felix.
Felix, in an interview with Stabroek News, said all that is left is for the paperwork to be completed before the project comes on stream.
The non-registration of births in the interior regions has for some time been a cause of concern. Over the years, a system has been developed where provision has been made for late registrations to be done. However, there seems to be many loopholes and there are concerns that the process has been abused.
Figures obtained by Stabroek News show that there were more than 19,000 late registration of births in four interior regions combined within the last five years.
Felix explained that the aim of the collaboration with UNICEF was to have a 100% registration of births and deaths. “We are very high currently in our registration of births. We are in the early nineties but ninety is not a hundred and in order to avoid the issues we have had earlier on, with people not being registered, it is important that we pursue 100%,” he said.
Asked how the non-registration of births in the interior will be tackled, he said the best and most efficient methods to attain 100% registration will be used.
Currently, he noted, there are persons in interior communities who work alongside the Registrar of births and deaths to register births in those areas but he noted that the reporting is not complete largely due to how scattered the communities are.
He stressed on the importance of a birth certificate, which is needed to acquire an identification card, passport and Tax Identification Number. “We want to ensure that we have this births registration so well documented and secure that you can rely on it later on,” he said.
Felix also said staffing and the availability of resources for his ministry is a work in progress. “My focus is to have a structure which indicates what we will need to function efficiently… we will not be carrying any excess,” he added.
He said his department brings together the work of the Immigration Department and the registry of births, deaths and marriages, which are all linked in terms of functionality.
According to Felix, when this division fell under the responsibility of the former Ministry of Home Affairs, it took second place to crime and other aspects of policing. “In the end, what we might end up having is a system that deals with naturalisation, registration and immigration.
With regard to the registration of deaths, he said that in time the department will reach a stage where is can do comparison of registered deaths for specific periods.
He also spoke of digitising the records of births and deaths.
Meanwhile, Felix said the decentralised collection of new machine readable passports is progressing smoothly and persons living outside of the city do not have to travel to the Central Immigration and Passport Office in Georgetown to collect their travel documents. Completed application forms are handed in at Georgetown office. Distribution has been decentralised for residents of New Amsterdam, Berbice, Lethem, Bartica and Region Two.
According to Felix, government is looking to move to produce passports at these locations but he noted that there are concerns about the security of the equipment. He said the equipment is very expensive and the government does not want to find itself in a situation where it may get stolen because the buildings in which it is housed are not secure.
