NIRA to resend SMS alerts for ID collection after communication mishap

The National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) has said it will resend SMS alerts to Ugandans following a communication error that caused confusion over national ID collection.

NIRA Executive Director Rose Kisembo admitted the mishap on Tuesday while appearing before Parliament’s Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs. 

The  authority admitted to sending out inaccurate messages to applicants about the status and location of their national identity cards.

In recent weeks, many Ugandans who applied for new IDs or renewals received SMS alerts instructing them to collect their cards from various NIRA centres across Kampala and other parts of the country. 

However, upon arrival, several applicants were told their cards were either not ready or had been sent to different centres.

Members of Parliament raised concern over the mix-up. Kagoma County MP Brandon Kintu said he personally received a message directing him to a collection centre in Kampala, only to be informed that his card was in Gulu.

“Either there is a communication problem or these messages are a haux,” Kintu said.

In response, Kisembo acknowledged the problem and said NIRA is working to correct the errors.

“We are going to take a chance to resend all messages with a provisor ‘ignore this if you have already your card’,” she said.

Kisembo also expressed concern over the low number of Ugandans collecting their IDs. She revealed that although NIRA planned to issue 17 million cards, only 15 million will be printed.

“So far we have printed 12 million cards and distributed to districts about 10.5 million and of these, only about 3 million have been collected,” she said.

She urged Ugandans to pick up their IDs once notified, noting that the authority is taking steps to improve communication and ensure a smoother collection process.