Oyam, (UG):- The Office of Myene Sub County chief, Oyam district has come under fire over extortion and incompetence after one of his staff allegedly issued an outdated birth certificate at a fee for one of the residents in the area.
According to preliminary findings, “it is alleged that on 13th November 2024, a Receipt bearing an official stamp for the office of the sub-county chief and revenue officer Oyam district issued an outdated Birth certificate to Emmy Ogwang a resident of Acimi central in Acimi parish at a cost of 10,000/=.”
The receipt of the birth certificate recently leaked on the WhatsApp group “Oyam at Heart’’ attracting discussion from group members as to why Myene Sub County is issuing the Outdated birth certificate at cost.
Upon seeing the receipt on social media, Moses Meregurwa, Registration officer at the National Identification and Registrations Authority (NIRA) in Oyam issued a strong warning to public institutions regarding charging for Birth registration or Notification.
He said the Authority’s service for birth notification and registration is free in Uganda and noted that the incident in Myene Sub County is against the law.
“Birth notifications and registrations are provided free of charge in Uganda, and any institution charging for these services is acting against the law. It is only the issuance of the certificate that is charged. Charges depend on the age of the person or for how long the person has taken to get a certificate. Yeah, the penalties are there,’’ Meregurwa said.
The Acting Sub County Chief, Myene Sub County, Walter Oceng, in his press release on 20th November 2024 regretted the unacceptable behaviour by a yet-to-be-identified staff of Myene Sub County and said arrangements are underway to identify the perpetrator.
But James Ogwal, the LCIII of Myene Sub County said issuing the outdated birth certificate was unprofessional and inappropriate as it portrayed Myene Sub County negatively in the public domain.
He asked the county chief to take tough action on the culprits.
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