The National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) is grappling with a severe service-delivery crisis.
It is emerging the NIRA is holding about 5.4 million newly printed national identity cards that citizens have yet to collect.
The backlog, disclosed to Parliament yesterday threatens access to essential services ranging from banking and mobile money to driving permits and civil registration in a country where the national ID has become the cornerstone of formal identity.
Appearing before the Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), NIRA Executive Director Rosemary Kisembo attributed the logjam primarily to inadequate permanent staffing after the expiry of a large-scale temporary workforce hired for mass enrolment and renewal.
NIRA has an approved establishment of 571 positions, of which only 418 are filled.
George Musisi, COSASE Deputy Chairperson and MP for Kira Municipality, argues that motivation, efficiency and internal service standards also contribute to delays.
NIRA now handles registration for civil, church, customary, Hindu and Muslim marriages.
The scale of the shortfall is stark.
Roughly 10.9 million people remain unregistered, while about six million already on the register have yet to renew their cards.
By URN
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