Muhoozi revealed this grand scheme while responding to a question mooted by Hon. Ethel Naluyima concerning the expiry of the current National IDs. As a consequence, the current ID cards being held by Ugandans will only be valid until sometime next year, parliament heard.
National IDs to be renewed next year at a cost of shs430 billion
The state minister for Internal Affairs, Gen David Muhoozi, has informed Parliament that there shall be an exercise of mass renewal, along with an enrollment exercise, for National Identity Cards (IDs) in 2023.
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Massive exercise
The first rollout of National IDs was immense with more than 15.8 million cards printed and issued in 2014/2015. These are set to expire between August 2024 and June 2025, this is why, the minister says, IDs must be renewed next year.
Muhoozi told Members of Parliament that the mass renewal exercise is on the cards, no pun intended. He added that this will begin in 2023, in a rotational manner.
“Renewal will happen at each parish in a rotational manner with NIRA deploying 10 registration kits per parish per day. The exercise will happen over a 12-month period beginning August 2023. After this period, these services will be operationalized and delivered at district level,” Muhoozi said.
High Cost
According to Muhoozi, the nationwide exercise will cost approximately 430 billion Uganda shillings.
This heart-stopping cost, Muhoozi informed the house, will not be saddled upon Ugandans as they will not be charged a single coin while renewing their national IDs once the renewal process starts.
Under Regulation 19(1) of the Registration of Persons Regulations, a National Identification Card is valid for 10 years from the date of issue and should be renewable in accordance with clearly set out regulations.
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