Thread by @Kauswe3

Is there any relevance having Village and Chief on our NRCs??

The National Registration Card was introduced in 1965. The first card 000001/11/1 was issued to Dr Kenneth David Kaunda.

The card number means something. For example NRC number 479974/11/1 stands for the four hundred and 79 thousand, nine hundred and seventy-fourth card
issued in Lusaka to a Zambian.

How do these numbers mean something? Well, let me break it down.
The first six digits are sequentially issued
numbers in a District.

The Next two digits stand for the District. The
First Digit signifies the Province the second DIgit the DIstrict. Hence 11 stands for Lusaka.

Province 1 District 1. Ndola is in the Copperbelt and cards issued there are 61 i.e. 6 for Copperbelt, 1 for Ndola.

The last Digit is for Nationality. 1 For Zambian, 2 For Commonwealth and 3 Other Foreigner.

The cards come in Three Colours Green For
Zambian, Blue for Commonwealth Citizen and
Pink For Other Foreigners.

The Village and Chief parts of the NRC are a
hangover from old Colonial Legislation. All
Africans were not supposed to be permanent
residents of urban towns and cities.

They all came from villages somewhere else. For taxation and registration purposes, Africans were required to provide their Home Village and chief information.

Under the Colonial System, every single chief in
the country was registered and every single
village under his control. This meant repatriating or even tracking down somebody was helped by this system.

Under the National Registration Act, 1965, the
reason for having village and chief on the card
was to allow for background checks and follow-ups.

One of the most boring jobs for the Zambia
Security Intelligence and Security Service and
the Police was to be sent to verify someone's
identity.

For instance, I am the son of Michael Simon
Mulenga of Mutamba Village, Chief Chitimukulu Village Mutamba, Mungwi District. A background check would involve sending a policeman or intelligence officer to Mutamba village to verify these facts.

One must remember that to this day a Birth
Certificate is not issued automatically at birth
and therefore identity theft in Zambia is not just real but easy.

The Village and Chief on your National
Registration Card is for these purposes. We
remove that and it will become even easier to
buy or steal a Zambian identity.

In Zambia, the best ID document to steal or acquire is the NRC. It opens up everything. Bank Accounts, Title Deeds, Drivers Licenses,Passports, NAPSA you name it, they all are connected to your National Registration Card.

Get an NRC and the whole world just opens up to you. Remove the Village and Chief and even the little chance of a background check on this crucial ID document disappears.

It has absolutely got nothing to do with tribe!!