.jpg)
The current system at the Office at the Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages continues to be a source of annoyance to persons accessing documents such as birth, death and marriage certificates. Very often when a document is applied for the names or dates are different from those that were previously dispatched, e.g. if the spelling of a name is different on a certificate of birth from the one that was earlier issued. No correction is made even if an error occurred in the transcription process.
Applicants are told that the former spelling of a name is the correct one since it corresponds to the birth entry. Someone may have a marriage certificate and passport with a certain name and upon application for a new certificate of birth,
The applicant may very well be issued a document with a different spelling of name or date of birth. Imagine the difficulties, stress and expenses that person would encounter.
It is high time that the Registrar pays attention to what is happening under her watch.
There is now a new development at the Marriage Section of the Office of the Registrar General. It was the custom that when Marriage Officers lodge Marriage Registration Forms with that section they were required to sign a book after an entry of the lodging was made. On November 14, 2012 I took a marriage registration on behalf of a pastor for lodging. I requested that I sign the book and was told that it was not a necessity anymore.
I insisted that I sign the book for the lodging of the Marriage Registration as a matter for the records. To not sign means that there is no proof that it was delivered to the Marriage Section of the Registrar Office. The clerk was very polite while informing me that she can be fired if she allows me to sign that book.
I set out to enquire as to the reason behind this strange regulation and was amazed at the answers I got to my questions.
In that office documents are misfiled, misplaced or for some strange reason they disappear. Since there are records of the lodging of the Marriage Registrations blame can fall on the Marriage Officer for non-submission. Someone in the Department then decided that the way to deal with the problem of disappearing documents is by not recording the lodgment. Now there is a simple explanation for persons who have not received their marriage certificates six months after the marriage. “The Marriage Officer did not submit the Marriage Registration even though the law requires him to do so within 14 days after the marriage.
Applicants are told that the former spelling of a name is the correct one since it corresponds to the birth entry. Someone may have a marriage certificate and passport with a certain name and upon application for a new certificate of birth,
The applicant may very well be issued a document with a different spelling of name or date of birth. Imagine the difficulties, stress and expenses that person would encounter.
It is high time that the Registrar pays attention to what is happening under her watch.
There is now a new development at the Marriage Section of the Office of the Registrar General. It was the custom that when Marriage Officers lodge Marriage Registration Forms with that section they were required to sign a book after an entry of the lodging was made. On November 14, 2012 I took a marriage registration on behalf of a pastor for lodging. I requested that I sign the book and was told that it was not a necessity anymore.
I insisted that I sign the book for the lodging of the Marriage Registration as a matter for the records. To not sign means that there is no proof that it was delivered to the Marriage Section of the Registrar Office. The clerk was very polite while informing me that she can be fired if she allows me to sign that book.
I set out to enquire as to the reason behind this strange regulation and was amazed at the answers I got to my questions.
In that office documents are misfiled, misplaced or for some strange reason they disappear. Since there are records of the lodging of the Marriage Registrations blame can fall on the Marriage Officer for non-submission. Someone in the Department then decided that the way to deal with the problem of disappearing documents is by not recording the lodgment. Now there is a simple explanation for persons who have not received their marriage certificates six months after the marriage. “The Marriage Officer did not submit the Marriage Registration even though the law requires him to do so within 14 days after the marriage.
