Fiji will have E-birth certificates soon.
Attorney General and Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says these E-birth certificates will be bar coded and can be used at schools and other places.
He also says that people who are complaining about fees of copies of birth certificates already know that these print outs are not needed everyday.
Sayed-Khaiyum also stresses that electronic birth registration does not attract any fees and even when you register your child online, the copy is given for free.
He says in April, the digital ability for people to register new born babies was launched and they want to encourage more people to register electronically and the government will pick up the cost for that.
Sayed-Khaiyum says the increase in fees charged by the Births, Deaths and Marriage Office for certificates is to encourage people to register electronically, and it also has to take into account the cost of printing these certificates as the last increase was 19 years ago.
He says it is still cheap to get a certified copy of a birth certificate compared to other countries like Samoa and Vanuatu.
Sayed-Khaiyum also says it is also a ridiculous proposition that people have to pay $3,000 to get married.
He says the 1,500 religious marriage officers in the country do not charge any fees and there is no application fees.
He also pointed out that the government now gives $1,000 for the registration of a baby if the mother earns less than $30,000. Sayed-Khaiyum says the electronic birth registration and a copy of the certificate is free.
The Attorney General further pointed out that they have also increased the maternity leave from 84 to 98 days.
He says here are people who are complaining and reporting about something that has increased from $1 to $5.
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