August 25, 2021
By: James Kamara-Manneh
National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) together with its partners has on the 24th August,2021 continued its sanitization drive on civil registration with 15 Western Area Tribal head at the Buxton School Hall in Freetown.
Addressing the tribal heads, NCRA Director General, Mohamed Massaquoi said sanitizing people on the importance of civil registration in various communities has been a challenge and cannot succeed without the aid the various tribal heads. He added after many deliberations with its partners it was decided that their inputs on the sanitization drive will be highly solicited and welcome. He highlighted the role of NCRA and its importance to citizens and national developments.
“You own your subjects better explanation when it comes to national developments and civic duties and responsibilities. You are the custodian of traditions with the responsibility to protect your subjects, therefore your voices are of importance to developments,” said Mr. Massaquoi.
Mr. Massaquoi added that the importance of civil registration either when a human being is or pronounce dead the records can aid government to know who and how to cater for the state and the lives of it citizens. He called on the parent to be eager to register their children immediately after birth because at that time it is a free process.
NCRA Director General said community members should report all birth and death related issues to the right authority as this will help government to have a clear statistic of the exact number of the living and the dead, and a certificate will be issued as a means of confirmation.
He said if there are no such documents for an individual whether alive or dead the tribal head of that community will certified the existence or pre-existence of the individual. In stating other importance of the program, he added that people failed in this regard in reporting the death of an individual, the cause of death, the area it occurred, this has been an age old program because there is no certificate to attest the death of family members. With the use of the certificate given at death, the family members can be able to claim properties or monies stored in the bank by the deceased during his life time.
He added the purpose of summoning tribal heads is for them to be knowledgeable that their subjects many a time has failed to comply with the Law, and this has been risky for many family members and beneficiaries, or even to themselves.
On the hand the Minister of Local Government, Tamba Lamina called on the tribal heads to support the progress of registration, and for the records to be intact. He said the government is being challenge in this area and it is only them as tribal heads will help government to achieve this dream.
He said the Western Area tribal heads have the responsibility of promoting the policies of government in keeping the records straight when it comes to developmental issues. The Minister said tribal heads do have large followers and to that extent their voices can go beyond walls, and admonished them to also keep the peace within their define territory when conflicts arises.
While the Mende Tribal head, P.C Matthew Gibao Young said though his community has not been faced with much challenges as to registration of their children or dead love one, he however, called on his subjects and beyond to take the opportunity as paramount concern.
Stefano Schwarz, the UNICEF child Protection Specialist made a slide presentation where he explained succinctly to the audience the policies of UN on child birth and protection.
P.C Young said birth certificate is free after 90 days and after they will pay little to avoid that he said it is better to do it within the 90 days period concerning the economic constraint of some parent. He also called on the government to put policies in place where in people will have to show their birth certificate before they are recruited into any job applied for. He called on the registration authority to budget for air time in the various houses as a means for them to sanitize their subjects in their local languages.