N AT I O N A L I N Q U I R Y R E P O R T ZIMBABWE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION For Human Dignity in corruption or those who could not afford the bribes from acquiring these documents. This finding of corruption allegations is consistent with media reports63 and research findings from other organisations. 64 3.2.6 Language barriers Language barriers rendered communication between the DRG and witnesses difficult, especially in cases of persons with hearing impairment65. It was noted that it was difficult for the DRG’s office to cater for diverse cultures and languages within its staff due to centralisation of the recruitment process by the Public Service Commission. Language barriers sometimes led to clerical errors especially in capturing of names by DRG Officers who were not conversant with local languages of the community they were serving. The Gweru District Registrar stated that clients, especially those who speak Ndebele, Tonga, Venda, Chewa and Korekore, have difficulties in conversing with the registration officers who cannot speak their mother languages. This was also noted in Matabeleland North and South Provinces. For instance, the name Tshuma was often spelt as Chuma by Shona speakers. The San Community also stated that they shied away from the DRG Offices due to language barriers as they could not understand or be understood by the DRG officials. Similarly, those with hearing and speech impairments were affected by language barriers as they could not communicate effectively with the DRG Officials because they were not conversant with sign language. 3.2.7 Clerical Errors An analysis of the evidence gathered showed that out of 38% of witnesses who had challenges with registration, 3.1% indicated registration errors which included mis-spelt names, entry of wrong date of birth such as 31 September66, wrong sex, for example a male person is identified as a female, wrong age of the person and wrong citizenship status of the person (for instance alien instead of citizen). This resulted in several irregularities appearing on the documents being issued. Correcting these mistakes proved difficult, particularly when the wrong name had been carried through generations. In terms of section 8(4) of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, an error made by the Registrar-General shall be corrected free of charge. However, witnesses carried the financial and other burdens of correcting the errors and sometimes did not rectify the errors because they could not afford the costs involved. “I have a BC. There was an error regarding my surname on the ID, it reads Masudu and not Masudi. I noticed that there was an error on my ID and I informed the RG office, so they told me to come back. When I went back, they told me to come back another time. I went back and they requested me to pay ZWL10 in order for them to rectify the error. I cannot access a passport because of the mistake”. 26year-old female witness, Buhera District, Manicaland Province. See annexure on media reports. Organisations such as LRF. 65 See Chapter 4 on Special Interest Groups on the section on Persons with Disabilities 66 See Annexure 7 on witness testimonies with examples of clerical errors. 63 64 21 21