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NIRA’s Executive Director, Rosemary Kisembo
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The Government has announced that the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) will hire 13,000 personnel to execute the mass enrollment and renewal of national identity (ID) cards in 10,717 parishes across the country. “This exercise will involve personnel who will be conducting the mass enrollment and renewal activities in 10,717 parishes across the country,” said the State Minister for Internal Affairs, Gen. David Muhoozi.
He noted, “During the period from February 26, 2024, to June 30, 2024, NIRA advertised jobs online for 22 job roles, and we received 152,000 applications. A competency test was conducted for all applicants, out of which 62,000 were successful and proceeded to oral interviews.” He further noted that after the final interviews, NIRA recruited the required personnel. They are now waiting for 5,680 biometric kits, including iris scanners, before starting the process of mass enrollment and ID card renewal, which the Minister noted would begin on October 15, 2024.
Gen. David Muhoozi
Gen. Muhoozi explained that NIRA aims to capture the details of 17.2 million unregistered Ugandans and renew the national IDs of 15.8 million using a new system that includes five modules: the NID card renewal module, new registration module, card replacement module, change of particulars module, and first ID issuance module.
“The feasible date for the exercise to commence with the new system in place is October 15, 2024. During the period leading up to October 15, persons aged 16 and above, or those who will be 18 by January 2026, are encouraged to register to get a National Identification Number (NIN) using the current registration system,” Muhoozi said, adding that registration continues, and they are not waiting for the new system.
He explained that the extension had been implemented through a Statutory Instrument Amendment No. 2, Regulations 2024, already published in the gazette on August 12, 2024. “The IDs that were due to expire within that period will be extended by one year. This should alleviate the public anxiety regarding what to do between now and when the new IDs are issued,” said Muhoozi.
NIRA’s Executive Director, Rosemary Kisembo, noted that despite the delays, the government will deliver the new IDs before the voting date in 2026.
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