Accra - The Parliamentary Select Committee on Local Government and Rural Development has urged the Ministry of Finance to allow the Births and Deaths Registry (BDR) to retain all of its Internally Generated Funds (IGF). This move is intended to enhance the Registry's efficiency and effectiveness in its operations.
According to Ghana News Agency, Currently, the BDR is only able to access 33% of its IGF, a limitation which the Committee believes is hindering its work. Mr. Emmanuel Akwasi Gyamfi, the Chairman of the Committee, emphasized this need during a day's working visit to the BDR, accompanied by Mr. Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, the Ranking, and other Committee Members. This visit formed part of the Committee's oversight responsibilities.
Established under Act 301 of 1965 within the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the BDR is tasked with managing and developing the birth and death registration system in Ghana. Its core mission involves providing accurate and reliable information on all births and deaths occurring within the country for Ghana's socioeconomic development through registration and certification. The BDR envisions achieving universal birth and death registration in Ghana.
"We are calling on the Ministry of Finance to allow all IGF collected by the registry to be retained to help augment their work," said Mr. Gyamfi. He also advocated for a permanent working space for the BDR, noting that efforts to secure a better location for the registry had yet to yield positive results. The Committee is committed to collaborating with stakeholders to find a suitable office complex, as the current division of the BDR's head office across two locations in Accra is not conducive for its operations.
The BDR, with a staff strength of 724 across the country, is currently hosted in the National Association of Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG) building and another group at the Institute of Local Government Studies, all in Accra.
Mr. Gyamfi called on the public to fulfill their civic duty by ensuring that every child born in the country is registered, and similarly, to register data for any individual who passes away, for the purpose of national development.
In her presentation to the Committee, Mrs. Henrietta Lamptey, the Acting Registrar of the BDR, outlined future goals, including the digitization of over 24 million records and publishing a statistical report for streamlined work for the first time. She highlighted the need for adequate funding and updated information technology systems to improve the Registry's operations. Mrs. Lamptey also expressed the challenges faced by the BDR, such as high operational costs due to maintaining two locations, inadequate accommodation, and internet challenges for field operations.