NIRA decries crippling staff shortage amid piling public complaints 

• NIRA says it faces a severe staff shortage amid rising demand for ID cards.

• Each staff member serves an average of 235 citizens daily.

• The authority is calling for more resources to improve service delivery.

The National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) has raised concern over a severe staffing shortage which is straining service delivery as demand for national identity cards continues to surge.

Speaking to the press on Monday, NIRA spokesperson Clare Ollama said the authority is struggling to cope with overwhelming demand despite making significant progress in printing and issuing cards.

Ollama revealed that NIRA has so far printed over 14 million national identity cards, which has caused a sharp increase in citizens flocking its offices across the country.

“Our offices are flooded and we don't have the manpower that matches the demand,” she said.

The authority, she said, operates 146 offices nationwide but is severely understaffed.

NIRA currently has only 418 permanent staff across the country, with just 297 assigned to core operations responsible for issuing cards.

“In effect, what is happening is that NIRA on a typical day across the 146 offices is issuing 70,000 cards. But we have only 418 permanent staff,” she said.

She explained that the staffing gap means each operations officer handles an average of 235 citizens daily.

“That is the magnification of the problem of NIRA,” she added.

Ollama said the situation has created pressure at service points, sometimes leading to tension among citizens seeking assistance.

“We are dealing with an entire population; the educated, the illiterate, the sick, the lame, the pregnant,” she said.

“In our offices you will find young people fighting because we are giving preference to the vulnerable,” she said.

Ollama insisted, however, that the authority is doing its best to serve the public under difficult conditions.

“It is easy to go on social media and complain… but you don't understand the manpower problem we are dealing with,” she said.

She called for increased resources to boost staffing levels and expand services closer to communities.

“We hope that the resource basket can increase so we can issue these cards to you faster at a sub-county level,” she said.