By Spy Uganda
Kampala: The National Identity Registration Authority (NIRA) has announced a sweeping initiative aimed at ensuring that every child aged 16 and above across the nation obtains their National Identity Number (NIN) and corresponding national identity card.
While addressing the press on Monday, January 29, 2024, at their headquarters in Kampala, NIRA spokesperson Osborne Mushabe confirmed the agency has embarked on a plan to conduct a comprehensive registration drive within schools during the upcoming academic term.
Mushabe emphasized the importance of this exercise particularly urging parents and guardians to support the endeavor. The initiative targets students in both primary and secondary education who have yet to be enrolled for national identity cards.
Highlighting the significance of this effort Mushabe underscored the substantial number of young citizens below the age of 16 who remain unregistered. He assured that the authority would prioritize this demographic before commencing the broader renewal campaign for national IDs.
“As the school break concludes, we will extend our outreach efforts to educational institutions to ensure continuous access to registration services for all citizens. We urge parents to facilitate the enrollment of their children who have not yet obtained their NINs or National IDs,” Mushabe emphasized.
NIRA is gearing up for a nationwide renewal initiative following the expiration of numerous national identification cards. Parents were encouraged to equip their children with photocopies of their own national IDs to streamline the process of acquiring a National Identity cards.
In a concurrent announcement, Dr. Ramathan Ggoobi, the Permanent Secretary of the Finance Ministry, disclosed that the government had allocated sh192b to initiate the ID registration process, underscoring the significance of this national endeavor.
