By Davis Masapula
Zomba, February 14, Mana: National Registration Bureau (NRB) will from next week rollout compulsory birth and death registration in Zomba district as one way of making sure the country has its actual population.
Principal Secretary for NRB, Mphatso Sambo disclosed this during a meeting with traditional leaders and members of Zomba district council.
“One of the mandates of NRB is to conduct birth and death registration for the country. This is vital for national planning as it helps in determining what programs to be prioritized in the district,” said Sambo.
He said, apart from prioritizing development in an area, the records would also help in knowing where deaths are occurring and the most common diseases killing people as well as how best to deal with it.
The Principal Secretary described the meeting with the chiefs crucial as they have a role to play in the registration process.
“Since the registration will be done in the community, chiefs will be the custodians of the process and we thought they should be engaged so that they are aware of the whole procedures.
District Commissioner for Zomba, Dr Smart Gwedemula said the registration will assist in knowing the number of births and deaths that are happening in the district.
Dr. Gwedemula said in addition, the data would help in making decisions when implementing developmental projects.
In his speech Senior chief Malemia welcomed the development by saying births and deaths registration is a programme that should have been implemented long time ago.
“Even as chiefs, we don’t have the actual number of people in our areas, as such the registration would really assist us as well,” he said.
