Gen. Aronda warns on national IDs

By Francis Emorut and John Agaba                  

Ugandans have been warned to take the national identity card registration exercise seriously because without it no one will be allowed to transact business and enter places of worship.

“Without the national identity card no one will be allowed to transact business either in shopping malls or with banks and even in Churches you will be required to produce your national ID in order to enter,” Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, the internal affairs minister said.

He was addressing the business community comprised of Uganda Printing Press Association, Public Sector Foundation Uganda, Uganda Manufacturers Association, Clearing and Forwarding Association of Uganda and Kampala City Traders Association.

“If you don’t register for national ID, you will not be allowed to enter the market, bus and Church and even taking your child for Universal Primary Education (UPE) you will be required to produce national identity card and we are determined by 2017,” Aronda warned.

The registration exercise begins next month.

Asked how the government is going to deal with counterfeits by unscrupulous people on Nasser Road who would want to forge the national identity card.

Aronda replied that government is going to use state of the art technology that can’t be forged.

“The exercise is not stoppable and it is irreversible. Counterfeit dealers are out of business because the ID is unforgeable,” he said.

He explained that the security features of the national identity card can’t be forged.

On how government is going to verify non-citizens from Ugandan citizens during the registration exercise considering the fact that some LCIs are corrupt, Aronda told the business community that checks and balanced system would be used to minimize registering non- citizens.

“We shall use distinguished elders, cultural leaders and security personnel to identify Ugandan citizens to reduce forgeability,” he said.

The minister informed the business community the benefits accrued from having national identity card include reducing crime, improvement on democracy especially electoral process, enhance regional integration and enhance economic activities in East African Community and the African continent.