Chief Criticises End To NRC Issuance In Southern Province

Senior Chief Mukuni of the Toka Leya people has criticised the government for prematurely terminating the issuance of National Registration Cards (NRCs) in Southern Province.

In an article published in the Zambian Observer, Chief Mukuni calls the decision “shocking and disgraceful” and terms the failure to equip voters with documentation as “a criminal act that attempts to deny people their basic rights”. 

The traditional leader points out that the NRC is not only necessary to vote but also allows millions of Zambians to enter the job market, apply for credit for their businesses and allows cross-border traders to apply for a passport and grow their enterprise. 

“A responsible government will recognise that other than being a human right, voting is a relief valve for citizens who have all form of grievances that they want addressed. And when you shut this constitutional means by which the people want to communicate their plight with, you create a dangerous condition of ‘bottled up anger’ in populations, that sooner or later explodes. Government must not set this country on fire,” he writes.

Chief Mukuni called on the United Nations Development Programme, the Labour movement, the Church and others to pressure the government into doing the right thing.

His comments come after Home Affairs Minister Stephen Kampyongo announced yesterday that the government would immediately cease issuing NRCs in Southern Province, despite many citizens not yet having had the opportunity to register. 

UPND MP Kalomo Central said in a video that he was shocked by the decision and called on the PF government  to ‘stop with its trick now’.