Birth certificate applications overwhelm NIRA

NIRA spokesperson, Mr Gilbert Kadilo

KAMPALA. The National identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) on Tuesday acknowledged that a backlog of birth certificate applications has pushed the turnaround time of acquiring the document to 21 days instead of four.
The NIRA spokesperson, Mr Gilbert Kadilo, said the backlog has been created by the demand for the document.
“We have slightly above 3,000 applications for birth certificates but we are doing everything possible to ensure that the process goes back to normal by next week,” Mr Kadilo said.

High demand
He attributed the increase in demand for birth certificates to the various uses of the document that include visa application and application for national examinations, among others.
One of the applicants, who spoke to the Daily Monitor on condition of anonymity, expressed dissatisfaction with the government bureaucratic process wondering why it should take more than three weeks to acquire the document.

Requirement

According to the registration authority, an application for a birth certificate requires a notification of birth issued by the hospital. The document contains the date of birth, time the baby was born, birth weight and parents’ names.