Distribution of National IDs begins in Wakiso

By Pascal Kwesiga

GOVERNMENT has started distributing national identity cards in Wakiso district.

The minister of internal affairs, Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, at the weekend launched the distribution exercise that will see 808,000 people who registered in the district get national identity cards.

Aronda handed over cards to two LC I officials during the launch of the distribution exercise at the district headquarters.

According to the district returning officer, Sarah Bukirwa, 390,000 cards have so far been printed and dispatched to the district. Official distribution of the cards in the district begins today.

She explained that 240,000 cards would be distributed before the end of this month. Bukirwa added that people will pick the cards in areas where they were registered and that names of people whose cards have been printed have been sent to the LC officials.

“We want you to go to your area LC I chairman and find out if your card has been printed before you come to us because some cards are not yet ready,” Bukirwa said.

The national identity card project, Aronda, noted is one of the flagship development interventions conceived by government to propel the country to a middle class income state in 2020.

Other projects include; the standard gauge railway, an improved road network and power generation and distribution across the country. He said Ugandans are free to use the cards traverse the five East African countries.

“After here (Wakiso) we shall start distribution of the cards in Mpigi and then across the country. We have registered 18m Ugandans from 16 years and above in the first phase of registration. All these people will have gotten their cards before elections,” Aronda said.

The registration for national identity cards which involves capturing one’s bio-data, the minister said, will help the country to fight ghosts, insecurity and reduce the cost of public projects. 

“The era of ghost workers will come to an end by 2017. Uganda is a very rich country because we have been paying ghost workers for many years but the country continues to grow, but this has to end,” he added.

Aronda disclosed that parents without national identity cards will have their children turned away from public schools by 2017.

“If the parents don’t have identity cards and the children don’t have national identification numbers, they will not be admitted into schools. We want to end the problem of ghosts,” he added.

He explained that the registration for national identity cards will continue up to before the 2016 elections and that the second phase of registration that opens in 2017 will involve registering people below 16 years, births, deaths and the economic activities people are engaged in.

This, according to government, will help tax authorities to identify taxable businesses and increase the money collected in taxes from services and goods produced in Uganda.

According to statistics from the finance ministry, an estimated 80% of Ugandans who are eligible to pay taxes are not taxed due to lack of reliable information about them and their businesses.

The chairman of the Electoral Commission, Eng. Badru Kiggundu, said they asked the ministry of internal affairs that conducted the registration exercise to ask Ugandans where they wished to vote from because the cards will be used to cast votes.