DailyNews Online Edition

All this paper work...

I think I have just about had it with all this paper work in the name of registration. The latest exercise for the National Identity card is even not the end of the story as we still have the population census coming up.

So it will be another round of questions with answers being written by tired clerks. I remember when the banks announced that there was an urgent need to update our bank details before an impossible deadline. I did not budge an inch, as far as I was concerned my bank in the first place never calls me, even to wish me a nice day.

It never visits me at home so whether the information changes or not it will still be business as usual. So why the fuss? I felt sorry for the banking clientele who would come with filled forms to the bank with half a dozen photo copies of important documents only to be told that there was still one missing.

I was not surprised that the deadline has been extended. But do not ask till when as I have no clue. The other registration exercise that left me exhausted was the one for the voters’ card. Dodging the exercise in 2005 I decided that in 2010, I would lead by example as my little Sharobaro qualifies to vote come 2015.

The queuing up put me off so I waited again for an extension of the deadline and dutifully registered my name. Then I was informed that was just the beginning I still had to get the card made. This meant walking to a different location other than the local government offices in our neighbourhood.

Arriving at the deserted primary school the officials were busy charging the solar operated cameras so we would be voters had to wait. Once the first camera had enough battery power the over enthusiastic official lined us up in the mid afternoon sunshine and gleefully shot away.

The end result is that I look like a witch on my voters’ card and it is one identification I try my best to leave at home. For any of you who have not attempted to get hold of your social security savings before the ripe age of 55 for one reason or the other brace yourself for yet another round of endless paper work and running around.

Don’t people think we have better things to do with our precious time than going back and forth over matters that could be handled in hours? So from what I gathered from the pitch talk by representatives from NIDA the new national identity card will have all our necessary details. Sounds dangerous though! I just pray by when we do get the new identification I will not have to fill in more forms to prove who I am.