I’ll go as far as saying losing an ID/Passport/Birth Certificate in Zimbabwe is as painful as anything you can think of. Why? Well, most of the workers at the National Registrar can sometimes (depending on your experience) go about their job as though you took them from something more important.
This means every time you lose a document issued by those guys (hopefully it’s not more than once) you’re filled with dread at the thought of the slow-moving queues and poor service. In fact, you’ll look for your ID in the same jean pockets for 6 000 times before resigning yourself to your unavoidable fate. What if there were a platform that could help you search for your lost valuables? An extra pocket of sorts in that jean…
That’s exactly what goodsfound.com is attempting to be. The platform allows Zimbos to look for lost documentation or add it. The website allows you to search for the following:
- Certificates
- Passports
- National ID’s
- Driver’s licence
You can also upload details regarding those documents which means if you stumble upon an ID that has been separated from its owner you can upload the details onto the platform and hopefully they’ll find it. If the owner of that document finds you, they will have to pay you the following:
- Certificates – $2
- Passports – $5
- National ID – $1.50
- Driver’s licence – $3
This incentive might make the platform a bit more popular than it would otherwise be but that can only be a good thing, as a centralised database of lost documentation will only be of great use if there is one of these and fragmentation is as low as possible. Speaking of a centralised database…
Where is the data kept?
There is one unresolved issue that makes me a bit uneasy. When you upload the submit details for lost valuables like passports and national IDs you have to enter both the names and ID/passport numbers of the lost document. Goods Found doesn’t explain anywhere how they keep this data and they could very well have a database of names and identification numbers of a lot of people depending on how popular the platform becomes. Data is becoming more and more valuable by the day and I would have been more at ease if there was an explanation of how they keep the data and whether they can see it.
Apart from that, it’s a pretty nice platform that could be the difference between you spending hours/hundreds of dollars at the National Registrar and minutes just going to collect your stuff…
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4 comments
Thanks for the info….the website is handy but details even on “About Us” are scant which leaves an uneasy feeling…..
That’s exactly how I feel. Was expecting to find some info explaining how they handle details or it at least a terms and conditions sections. But alas…
“..they will have to to pay..”, this is where the problems will start. As a person who once was extorted to get lost property, which I had a very good idea where I had left it, they can easily find themselves on the bad side of the law. An individual is entitled to their property regardless of how you came across it. That’s why even buying stolen property is a crime regardless of your complicity.
Encouraging those whose property has been located to give a “thank you” is good, but shouldn’t be mandatory. Doesn’t it encourage those who pick property to keep it for posting on the site, rather than trying to find them immediately or via the venue/premises they are on.
You can even cash out on the site. I will ake my friends’ passport and everyone I know. They will pay me 5 bucks per passport. To claim your passport back you pay just a dollar. So my question is where do they make their money. I visited the site just see.