NIRA Faces Massive ID Backlog, Appeals for 2,700 Temporary Staff

The National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) is facing a significant challenge, with an estimated 5.4 million national identity cards currently uncollected. This bottleneck in service delivery was revealed to Parliament by NIRA’s Executive Director, Rosemary Kisembo. She explained that the expiry of a temporary mass-enrolment and renewal program has led to a critical shortage of personnel.

NIRA is seeking government approval to expand its permanent workforce from the current 571 approved positions to 998. Furthermore, the authority has requested the deployment of approximately 2,700 temporary workers for a period of 18 months to tackle the accumulated backlog. Kisembo emphasized that the existing staff, with only 418 positions filled and just 201 client-facing personnel, are inadequate to manage the authority’s statutory duties.

During a recent appearance before Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), Kisembo highlighted that even with temporary staff, processing the existing backlog of card issuance would require an estimated nine months of dedicated effort. The proposed temporary hires would also be tasked with completing renewals for millions of citizens, registering new applicants, processing changes of particulars, and supporting birth and death registrations.

However, Kisembo acknowledged that this proposed solution offers only a short-term remedy. Members of Parliament raised concerns beyond staffing numbers, citing issues with citizen motivation, efficiency, and internal service standards contributing to delays. Some MPs shared personal experiences and noted instances where newly issued IDs were reportedly not yet activated in the system, potentially causing further complications for citizens, such as delays in obtaining driving permits.

Source: https://www.parliament.go.ug/news/4610/nira-seeks-thousands-workers-clear-id-backlog