Museveni stresses importance of digitalized national IDs

By Vision Reporter

President Yoweri Museveni has stressed the importance of a digitalized national identity card saying it is a difficult document to fall prey to forgery. 

The President was Sunday afternoon addressing the nation from State House, Nakasero, on the eve of the nation-wide exercise of the start of registration in preparation for the issuance of a national card to the citizens of Uganda. The 4-month exercise kicks off Monday April 14, 2014.

According to a press release from PPU, Museveni revealed that the registration for the identity cards would commence Monday at all the Parishes throughout the country. 

President Museveni told the nation that the IDs biometric data would be centrally stored pointing out that the information captured will also include the Citizen’s blood group. He said that this would ease the work of medical personnel in knowing the blood groups of people in the event that one was involved in an accident and required blood transfusion.

He said the DNA of citizens would also be captured this data would help the Police to identify persons involved in crimes such as rape. He said that the exercise too would eliminate people involved in fraud and impersonators. He observed that cheating in elections will stop since a computerized electoral register would be available.

The President further revealed that among the negative characters to be eliminated by the exercise are serial bank loan defaulters. He also added that the national identity cards will be used as travel documents within the East African Region. 

He, therefore, called on the registration officials to help wananchi at the time of registration. He gave assurances that all Ugandans aged 16 years and above qualify for the national identity card adding that the exercise will go a long way in easing the issue of knowing who a Ugandan citizen is. 

The President cautioned immigrants who wish to become Ugandan citizens against making false statements to immigration officials. 

Museveni clarified that the exercise would enable Government to register citizens who are in the country and that those found outside the boarders of Uganda would be registered upon their re-entry into the country. 

While referring to people being registered as Ugandans by birth, he said that those who belong to communities / tribes that were in Uganda in 1926 qualify. He was confident that the exercise would eliminate ghost voters as well as ghost workers in the civil service and also ensure smooth voting devoid of the hitherto encumbrances in the country.

THE AUDIO

SPEECH IN FULL

Uganda President Museveni's Speech on National Identity Cards April 2014 by The New Vision