NRC
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 seventy nine 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, i.e. Province 1, District 1. Ndola is on the Copperbelt and cards issued there are 61, i.e. 6 for Copperbelt, 1 for Ndola.
Mongu is in Western Province, its issuance is 82 which is 8 for the Province and 2 for the number of the District.
The last Digit is for Nationality, i.e. 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 on 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, of 1965, the reason for having village and chief on the card was to allow for background checks and follow-ups.
One of the most complicated jobs for the Zambia Security Intelligence and Security Service and Police was to be sent to verify someone’s identity.
For instance, if I am the son of Michael Simon
Mulenga of Mutamba Village, Chief Chitimukulu,Village Mutamba, Mungwi District, Muchinga Province.
A background check would involve sending a
policeman or intelligence officer to Mutamba Village to verify these facts and vouch for my Zambianness.
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 verification purposes. We remove that and it will become much much 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, Jobs, Promotions, Parliamentary and Presidential Statuses 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 small chance of a background check on this crucial ID document disappears along with it.