REGISTRAR-GENERAL Tobaiwa Mudede says he will continue to call people of foreign origin “aliens” because that is what they are.
SENIOR PARLIAMENTARY REPORTER
Mudede said this when he appeared before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Defence and Home Affairs on Monday. The committee, chaired by Glen View South MP Paul Madzore was quizzing Mudede on the on-going voter registration exercise.
MDC-T MP for Mbizo, Settlement Chikwinya recently told the House of Assembly the word “alien” was xenophobic and should be done away with.
“They are aliens,” Mudede declared. “Whether someone does not want to hear the word “alien” — it is unfortunate because we will pronounce it.
“It is not only pronounced in Zimbabwe, but the world over and the word is not alien to Zimbabwe as all Sadc countries have aliens, and we have attended meetings in Sadc and the AU and have taken that position.”
Mudede told the committee that those “aliens” who came with IDs and birth certificates would not have to go through interviews to be registered as voters.
“It is those who have nothing to claim they belong here who will be interviewed. We have problems with those who say they have nothing, but want to be registered because they are unknown to the system,” he said.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Mudede said people who had renounced their Zimbabwean citizenship could restore it by filling in Restoration Forms as prescribed by the law.
“I then take the forms and give them to other stakeholders like government to check whether the person is bonafide before the citizenship is restored,” Mudede said.
He said the new constitution and the law were not explicit on the issue of citizenship.
