Botswana

In line with guidance from the Africa Program on Accelerated Improvement of Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (APAI-CRVS), a national coordination mechanism has been set up. The aim is to decide on the best way to advance a national CRVS system and to oversee the implementing of improvement policies. The coordination is entrusted to a high-level CRVS Steering Committee made up of

• the Ministry of Nationality, Immigration and Gender Affairs – Department of Civil and National Registration (lead organization);
• Statistics Botswana;
• Ministry of Health and Wellness;
• Administration of Justice;
• Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development;
• Ministry of Education;
• UNICEF; and
• non-governmental organizations advocating for children’s rights.

Also, dedicated CRVS Technical Working Groups were set up, bringing together appointed representatives of the institutions that are CRVS Steering Committee members.

The DCNR has set up registration offices outside the capital city to make it easier to register life events by bringing services closer to the people. There are 50 registration service points in total:

• 12 are regional offices in urban centres;
• 24 are subdistrict offices in rural areas; and
• 14 are registration sites at health facilities.

To reach the closest civil registration office, household members need to travel 5 to 10 km on average. Translated into travel time, in urban areas, registration centres can be reached within less than one hour; residents of surrounding villages will need one to four hours’ travel time by foot or less than an hour by car

Birth registration can be done at the health facility where the birth occurred or at the nearest DCNR office. Assistant registrars are placed in health institutions to register births and deaths as they occur. The strategy helps achieve the goal of registering births within the 60 days stipulated in the Births and Deaths Registration Act and before age 1. This approach takes advantage of having 94 percent of births occurring in health institutions.

For registration at the health facility, health personnel record the birth or death by completing a birth/death notification form immediately after the event and forwarding the completed form to the relevant DCNR office for processing. This is done on-site at the hospital within an hour of occurrence, or at a district or subdistrict office within a week. Once the forms are received at the DCNR office, they are entered into the Birth and Death Registration System, where registration is quality checked and authorized.

In cases where the form was submitted to offices outside the hospital, the registration is processed and authorized, and the birth/death certificate is ready for printing. In the case of late registrations, the declarant must also bring an affidavit and witnesses to confirm that the event occurred. To be able to pick up the birth/death certificate, the next of kin is required to produce a tear-off piece from the birth notification form that was given at the time of the birth or death.

Also, the DCNR operates mobile registration services monthly or quarterly in remote and difficult-to-reach areas and other centres in each district and subdistrict. This allows the DCNR to register births and deaths that take place outside institutions and to distribute certificates without individuals having to visit civil registry offices.

In cases of late registration, the Late Registration Assessment Board reviews the application form to authenticate and authorize data at a higher level. The Board is based at the DCNR head office in Gaborone. The Board can ask for more information, refer the matter for further investigation, or approve or reject registration. All completed application forms, including approved late registration forms, are immediately entered into the registration system. At this point, the registration process is complete and a certificate can be issued.

A couple wanting to marry will normally appear before the registration officer of any district with their witnesses to submit the information to publish the marriage banns. Documents such as the decree absolute (from a divorce) or a former spouse’s death certificate are required as proof for remarrying parties. The couple completes a marriage banns form that includes the name, age, status, occupation, identification, and residential addresses of both applicants. The parties sign the form before two witnesses; the notice is then sent to the district(s) where both parties reside and their places of origin. The same notice may be sent to the church, if the applicants intend to marry at the church. The Marriage Act contains certain prohibitions, so publication of the banns is done for three weeks. This allows those who might object to do so before the marriage is solemnized. After the 21 days expire, if no objections are raised, the marriage is solemnized by the District Officer under the Ministry of Local Government and Lands. The officer makes entries in the marriage register: Form 29 (a duplicate of the marriage register) and a marriage certificate are issued. Form 29 is given to the couple as the prima facie evidence of marriage.