You don't have a national I.D? What do you know about change?

 

By Robert Atuhairwe

 

What is the problem of Uganda? Knowing the lethargic tendencies of some of our compatriots, is it a surprise that some of them have never acquired national indentity candidates? 

 

I am one documented citizen who straight away registered to acquire a national I.D when the exercise was introduced by National Identification Registration Authority (NIRA).

 

 Luckily, I did not experience any hiccups in the process. I acquired my card at the issuance of the first batch in 2015.

 

Had I missed out, for one reason or another, on registering the first time, I would have used the next available opportunity to do so. That is due to the importance I attached to document.

 

I did not have to be reminded over and over, barring the expected inconviniences of queing up to register and to receive the card.

 

Mass  identification programmes are the bedrock of national planning and individual participation.

 

Governments use information gleaned from mass citizenship profiling to plan and to serve.

 

For individuals, from confirmation of citizenship, access control, for use as a reference for acquisition of other documents (account opening, filing tax returns, use in judicial circles such as standing surety for suspects), use as a travel document and for use in the electoral process-as a voter and contestant-a national I.D is not a luxury-rather, it is a treasure. 

 

Right now a section of subcribers are being disconnected from telecom networks due to failure to regularise their numbers with the National Identification Numbers (NINs), which come with the I.Ds.

 

So they are now cut off from voice calls, messaging and mobile money transactions. They have no access to social media because they used the now disconnected numbers to accounts.

 

While some Ugandans are dragging their feet, citizens in other countries are at the next level. In Kenya, they are registering for a personal number-Huduma Number-which is a little more advanced that ours.

 

It involves collecting biometric data after which the systems generates a unique number which will be the pass to access government services including applying for a driving license, ID and birth certificate. With it, one does not have to carry several documents like the national I.D, driving licence and passport.

 

According to Kenya's National Integrated Identity Management system (NIIMS), the body in charge of the process, all personal information recorded in different databases is consolidated in the Huduma Namba "to arrive at the ‘single source of truth' regarding a Kenyan".

 

So here in Uganda we have myriads that have not done the basic thing of applying for and chasing for their ndagamuntu and they are claiming the right to lead the national consciousness on broad matters. How? Not having a national I.D is like ceasing to exist.

 

The I.D-less individual is not a "living being"; he or she cannot be accounted for, has no or limited access to places where services are offered; he or she is not engaged in any formal business or engagements, has no personal file of reference in case of anything, and so on. In short, they have no participation in things Ugandan and have sold their birth right!  

 

Meanwhile, they belong in the category of the most aggrieved by whatever is not going on and they badly want to see a difference in how things are done. What kind of change do they represent? Ideal citizenship requires proactiveness.

 

Lack of basic interest in one's  civic duties and personal responsibility for their own wellbeing and that of others relegates a lot of people to misery and desperation, a situation in which they can be used and abused, and their own contribution to national renewal and development is questionable. 

 

Shouldn't it be documented Ugandans tasking the "undocumented" to change their ways so that we move together in fixing systems and making Uganda great? A national I.D empowers; it is a bargaining chip or a power chip, so to say.

 

The I.D project is the most significant intervention ever in the interest of empowering Ugandans.

 

With it in hand, one has say in anything, not forgetting elections. And it comes free of charge! Get your national I.D and be a true reformist! 

The author is a member of the Commonwealth Writers Group

Email: atuhairwe_robert@yahoo.com

0772468064