Huge turnout as NIRA conducts national ID registration across Australia

 IN THE DIASPORA 

📍 Australia 🇦🇺

Uganda's National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) has been struggling to keep up with the overwhelming number of Ugandans renewing their national identity cards or registering their children abroad.

In particularly Australia, NIRA officials conducting the exercise said the workload had exceeded expectations, forcing them to work late into the night to accommodate the large crowds.

On average, it takes at least 25 minutes to process each application.

Although officials had initially planned to work from 9am until 9pm, they were forced to extend registration to well past 11pm daily in a bid to serve as many applicants as possible.

“We are overwhelmed," said Daniel Mulekezi, the Second Secretary at the Uganda High Commission in Canberra, who is coordinating the exercise.

"There are so many Ugandans with expired identity cards and children who have never been registered. Many of these children were either born in Australia or travelled at a time when registration for minors had not yet started in Uganda," he added.

The registration is being conducted in every state across Australia, with each state allocated at least three days. 

Leading the process are NIRA’s senior registration officer, Darius Turyahikayo, and Josephine Ssenyonjo, executive assistant to the executive director.

“We are doing our best, but the process requires strict attention to documentation. Any mistake could lead to time-wasting, as the national ID has to be reissued. So we must take time to get it right,” said Turyahikayo.

In Victoria, officials acknowledged that after hundreds showed up, some people who had arrived as early as 8am did not complete registration until after 6pm. Many others were still waiting in line with their families.

“We appreciate the massive turnout for today’s registration. Unfortunately, due to limited space at the venue, we are unable to accept any additional applicants this evening. However, the High Commission commits to conducting a second outreach in Melbourne with extended time in October this year,” officials announced.

By the end of last week, more than 200 Ugandans had been registered in Canberra and Victoria. Mulekezi said numbers had been expected to rise when the exercise moved to Sydney on Monday (August 18).

“The good news is that all the machines and equipment will remain at the High Commission in Canberra. This means those who miss out during the outreach will still have an opportunity to register directly at the mission,” he added.

NIRA officials were set to continue with registration in Sydney (August 18-20) and in Brisbane (August 22-24).

NIRA launched the mass enrolment and renewal of expired national IDs in May this year. 

Following appeals from Ugandans in the diaspora, the authority dispatched officials to selected countries to support the renewal process abroad.