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Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG) has demanded for enhanced transparency and inclusivity in the implementation of the Integrated National Registration Information System (INRIS).
INRIS is being implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security through the Department of National Registration, Passport and Citizenship.
In a Ministerial Statement to Parliament by the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security delivered on March 10, 2022, Jack Mwiimbu informed the nation that the INRIS had been successfully deployed in eleven districts, namely Choma, Livingstone, Mongu, Solwezi, Ndola, Mansa, Kasama, Chinsali, Chipata, Lusaka and Kabwe.
CCMG-Steering Committee Spokesperson ,Alex Muyebe, said the organisation has noted significant information gaps in the implementation of INRIS that has resulted in low participation of non-state actors in the process.
Muyebe has stated that while CCMG is cognizant of the challenges that the INRIS process aims to address as well as its importance in the electoral process, low participation of non-state actors in the exercise is worrying and has been exacerbated by little available information on the implementation of the INRIS.
“It is our considered view that government through the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security must take a multi-stakeholder approach in the implementation of the INRIS in order to promote transparency, inclusion and credibility to the exercise, as INRIS will be a key part of elections going forward,” he said.
Muyebe has also called on the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security to collaborate much more with the Electoral Commission of Zambia, given that voter registration will be largely dependent on the civil register in the future.
“CCMG further urges collaboration between Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security and the Zambia Statistics Agency (ZAMSTATS), in order to ensure that the INRIS exercise is implemented based on population census data, with clear targets in each district,” he said.
Contributed by Augustine Sichula
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