Axed NIDA staff to get 2.3bn/-

DAILY NEWS Reporter

A reGistration official in the card quality control section of the National Identificaton authority (NIDA), Ms Jemima Mulokozi (left), shows a sample of a complete card to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr Projest Rwegasira (centre), at the authority’s headquarters in Dar es Salaam yesterday. Right (in a suit) is Acting NIDA Director-General, Dr Modestus Kipilimba. (Photo by Ministry of Home Affaitrs)

THE government has said it will pay a total of 597 temporary employees of the National Identification Authority (NIDA) whose contracts were terminated on March 7, this year, due to inefficiency and low productivity.

The Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr Projestus Rwegasira, said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the government has earmarked 2.3 billion/- to pay the employees.

“The payment includes three-month salary arrears, contribution to the social security funds and health insurance,” said the PS while addressing NIDA staff members during his visit to the authority’s headquarters in the city.

Mr Rwegasira said the workers should not mislead the people on their payment entitlements, pointing out that the government was finalising the procedures to pay them. “I want you to tell them that they should not be worried about their payment. They should stop worrying that they will not be paid.

The government will pay them,” he stressed. Mr Rwegasira ordered that 23 million people should be registered by NIDA for the national identification cards by December 31, this year.

On his part, Acting NIDA Director General, Dr Modestus Kapilimba, expressed gratitude to the PS for his visit to the NIDA headquarters and promised to finalise the exercise to register the people by the end of the year.

“Under the ‘Hapa Kazi Tu’ slogan, we promise to attain the goal to register the remaining number of people by the end of this year,” he said. In March, NIDA revoked all contracts for 597 temporary workers due to inefficiency and low productivity.

The Acting DG had told a press conference in Dar es Salaam that the management was also assessing performance of its 802 permanent staff with a view to offload and transfer them to the Central Establishment for other assignments.

He, however, noted that the authority would follow all legal and contractual procedures in ‘disposing’ the temporary workers. According to him, NIDA has been producing 1,200 IDs instead of 24,000 IDs per day, equivalent to only 10 per cent of the target; which caused loss to the authority. Continues