Govt to issue national IDs in 2013

Dec 14, 2011

Government will start issuing out national identity cards to Ugandans in 2013.

By Henry Sekanjako 

Government will start issuing out national identity cards to Ugandans in 2013.

Appearing before the parliamentary committee on Information Communication Technology (ICT) State Minister for ICT Nyombi Thembo said they had acquired all the equipment needed to produce the cards.

“You will see massive issuance of cards come 2013. Money has been paid and we should get these cards,” the minister assured.

Nyombi attributed the delay in the issuance of the long awaited national IDs to governance challenges, adding that it was a challenging project which requires them to ensure that whoever gets a national ID is a citizen of Uganda.

Nyombi was in company of the permanent secretary Ministry of Internal Affairs, Steven Kagoda, ICT Permanent Secretary Dr. Jimmy Samanya, among other officials.

More cards

He told the committee that 400 cards have so far been  produced, saying they would print more cards when they get the actual number of Ugandans that are eligible for acquiring the IDS when the national census exercise is done.

About 15 million Ugandans were meant to get the national IDs.

He said a steering committee had been set up to monitor how best the project can be a success.

However Members of Parliament expressed concern that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and that of ICT were clashing about the project, which Nyombi dismissed. 

He clarified that some of the roles in the project were quite similar which he says has always brought about concerns by the two ministries.

Project road map

Meanwhile the committee refused to take submissions from the permanent secretary Ministry of Internal Affairs, Steven Kagoda for failure to present to the committee the road map on the national identity card project.

According to the committee chairperson Paula Turyahikayo, the committee had for long asked the internal affairs ministry to provide the committee with a road map on the inventory audit quarterly report showing how much has been used and the monies the ministry intended to use for the entire project but all in vain.

“We wanted an inventory audit report, but what you have presented is not what we wanted. We want IDS and our voters are asking for IDS,” she said.

“We don’t want you to play around with the committee. We are serious people.”

A firm Turyahikayo compared Uganda with its neighbours Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda which already have national identity cards. “We don’t want to be sweet talked we want performance”.

The committee also demanded for documents showing how much taxes the ministry has collected from Malbhur, the company contracted to print national IDs.

Deadline

The committee which gave the ministry up to February next year to prepare their road map asked Kagoda to present to the committee an inventory report, tax payments, quarterly  budget  reports up to 2013 when they intend to accomplish the project.

“Unless you present a detailed report on the roadmap, we shall not help you get the monies you want,” Turyahikayo warned.

During a meeting with the committee recently the executive director of the National Information Technology Authority (NITA) James Saaka told MPs that to issue out national IDs, government would require an extra sh118b within a period of three years, which would put the total amount at sh337b.

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