Zimbabwe’s Registrar-General says contraceptives are a Western ploy to retard population growth.

HARARE - A top ally of President Robert Mugabe is calling on Zimbabweans to stop using contraceptives to ensure the southern African country has enough soldiers.

Registrar-General Tobaiwa Mudede, who's in charge of maintaining the country's voters' roll, and registering births and deaths, says contraceptives are a Western ploy to retard population growth and weaken countries.

In a bizarre rant against contraceptives, Mudede accuses Zimbabweans of not wanting to multiply.

He told a church gathering that contraceptives were a foreign product.

The state-run Herald newspaper quotes Mudede as asking where Zimbabwe will get soldiers from in the event of a foreign attack.

The latest census results show that Zimbabwe's population growth has remained steady at 1,1 percent for the past decade.

Locals took to social media today to hit out at Mudede, asking how Zimbabwe was going to feed extra children.

It's not the first time Mudede has expressed his concern about Zimbabwe's birth rate.

Last year, Bulawayo24 News website quoted him saying he would meet with all women "about this issue of not giving us babies".

Mugabe himself made similar comments in 2012, reportedly saying, "Why are you refusing to get pregnant? Why were you given bellies? No, no, don't refuse."

After a negative population growth rate up until 2007, largely due to the spread of HIV/Aids, the country's population has slowly grown upwards.

Zimbabwe's National Statistics Agency estimates the population to be around 13 million after the 2012 census.

The population increased by around 1,5 million when compared to 2002.