By Jonathan Christian.
The National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) will undertake a mass enrolment and renewal exercise of National Identification (ID) cards in 2023, the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Gen. David Muhoozi, has said.
This will commence the mass enrollment exercise of National IDs in January 2023 while renewals will start in August 2023 up to August 2025, targeting 17.2 million citizens who have never been registered and 20 million Ugandans who wish to renew their National IDs.
According to the minister, the first batch of 15.8 million identity cards that were printed and issued in the 2014/2015 will expire between August 2024 and June 2025, thus justifying need for renewal in accordance with Regulation 19(1) of the Registration of Persons Regulations SI 67 /2015.
All these were followed after a question raised by Hon, Betty Naluyima the woman MP wakiso district. Who raised a question on the impending expiry of national iD cards.
in his response Maj Gen muhoozi said Renewal will happen at each parish in a rotational manner with NIRA deploying 10 registration kits per parish per day. The exercise will happen over a 12-month period beginning August 2023. After this period, these services will be operationalised and delivered at district level,
He said that persons who are renewing or applying for the ID for the first time will have to do so through online services. The applicant will then print a QR encoded sheet of information of the application which will be presented to a Registration Assistant at a parish.
Every card renewal will cost 50,000 though many members of the parliament have not agreed with the amount say the Government should be the one responsible of making iDs.
Muhoozi said whereas the exercise will be used as a potential avenue to generate revenue, the full cost of the acquisition of a new National ID will be borne by government except for citizens who seek an express service.
Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa, warned the minister not to make the national ID card exercise a revenue generating avenue because they have become a necessary requirement for one to attain any social and economic service. Which may lead more people to be left out .
