Tanzania lays the groundwork for issuing universal ID

 

By Alex Nelson Malanga

Business journalist

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania is consulting the US-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on the possibility of establishing the Universal National Identification Card (ID), it was revealed yesterday in Parliament.

A new move is meant to integrate the National ID card with other IDs and cut costs that the government is incurring in purchasing raw cards and printing of IDs, according to Home Affairs minister Hamad Masauni.

“To make our plan a reality, the Home Affairs ministry this month held preliminary talks with the senior officials from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,” revealed Mr Masauni as he was tabling the Sh1.29 trillion budget proposal for his docket.

Mr Masauni said the Universal National ID card was also meant to do away with hassles that one was going through before securing the ID.

“Upon completion of the project on card, one will have to carry with him only one ID, instead of numerous. This will in turn pave a way for accessing social and economic activities conveniently,” Mr Masauni told the Parliament.

Presently, the list of cards that a citizen might carry, include the National ID, voter ID card, driving license and health insurance.
Carrying so many ID cards is considered by a section of people as a burden and cumbersome.

It is on that backdrop that the government is thriving to integrate the National ID card with other IDs through a consultation to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Mr Masauni said in the next Financial Year (2023/24) that kicks off on July 1, the government will make amendments on the Registration and Identification of Persons Act to allow a person to be registered from birth until death.

During the period under review, the government will also start engaging stakeholders from various spheres to get their opinions on the Universal National ID Card.

He went on to say, the government in cooperation with countries endowed with a vast experience in the Universal National ID Card, will use modern technology to enhance the preparation and issuance of ID cards.

“We will invest in modern systems meant for identification and registration of people and issuance of ID cards,” said Mr Masauni.

He said during the next financial year, the government through the National Identification Authority (Nida), is planning to register pretty close to 1.6 million people.

Since the kicking off of the registration exercise in 2012, Nida has so far registered nearly 20.13 million people.
Mr Masauni explained that already about 12.1 million ID cards have been produced, and of the figures 10.7 have been distributed to the owners.
To speed up the registration, Nida in December last year introduced an online registration system that will, among other things, allow qualified persons to register for IDs by filling out an online form from wherever they are.

Head of Nida’s Communications Department Geofrey Tengeneza told media in the recent past that the method intends to reduce the hassle for National ID card applicants, who now have to congregate at Nida offices to obtain application forms.

He said with the new system, filling out forms and uploading files will be possible from anywhere using a device capable of accessing the Internet, such as a smartphone, via eonline.nida.go.tz.

Meanwhile, yesterday Minister Masauni listed a number of the government’s priorities for the 2023/24 Financial Year.

They include continuing maintaining peace and security of people and their properties, completing the ongoing development projects and strengthening the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in services delivery and revenue collection.

The list of priorities also include improving the working and residential environment of police officers and other civil servants in the ministry of Home Affairs.

This will go in tandem with purchasing modern working equipment such as boats, helicopters and vehicles with a view to improving delivery of services.