About 24,000 Omang cards uncollected

Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Friday September 19, 2014 16:34

 

The numbers change daily as the system churns out more Omang cards.

Unless many wake up to the realisation that without Omang, one is not eligible to vote in the October 24 general elections, more would deny themselves their constitutional right to vote.

 “As of the 16th September 2014, the number of uncollected cards stood at 23 936. This number changes on a daily basis as new cards are produced and those in hand collected,” the ministry’s public relations officer Irene Ikutlweng said.

Ikutlweng said they have tried different but unsuccessful ways to encourage both application for and collection of Omang cards. She said the ministry staff among other things have done extensive field trips to register and distribute Omang cards; undertake Information, Education and Communication (IEC) programmes aimed at increasing awareness and the importance of Omang; address Kgotla meetings; and engaged in media campaigns and placement of advertisements.

To ensure Batswana exercise their constitutional right to vote, she said they were collaborating with the Independent Electorate Commission (IEC) for alignment and synergy.

“To this end, this Ministry is in constant contact with the IEC and in some instances do media interviews and TV appearances jointly. Some of the mutual interest issues under constant discussion include the state of registration, renewal and collection of Omang cards as well as validation or authentication of the identities of those registered voters,” she said.

It was also found out that some people especially in the villages do not collect their Omang cards. To that end, the ministry is in the process of conducting a survey to establish why people do not collect their Omang cards.