NIRA given mandate to conduct civil marriages
What you need to know:
- NIRA will also take on the mandate to register all faith-based and customary marriages.
Parliament yesterday passed a law transferring the powers to conduct civil marriages from the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) to the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA).
NIRA will also take on the mandate to register all faith-based and customary marriages.
The URSB Amendment Act, 2024, is part of the Government Policy for Rationalisation of Government Agencies and Public Expenditure (RAPEX). The rationalisation aims to, among others, streamline and harmonise government operations, avoid duplication of roles and save money.
“The Bill [now Act] will delineate the civil registration functions performed by NIRA and URSB, by ensuring that NIRA registers and performs all civil registration functions relating to natural persons in Uganda (from birth, through marriage, to the death of an individual) while URSB performs the civil registration functions in relation to juridical persons and non-incorporated entities in Uganda,” the report of the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee that handled the Bill states.
Justification
Justice Minister Nobert Mao said: “This is about domicile of registration services...We have already transferred the registration of births and deaths to NIRA. We are here to ask for Parliament to pass the amendment so that the civil registration function in respect to marriages currently by the URSB is transferred to the NIRA…to enable the function of all civil registration under one agency.”
Staff in the Department of Civil Registration at URSB as well as equipment are to be transferred to NIRA to execute the same mandate.
The committee, however, raised concern about the readiness of NIRA to ensure a smooth transfer of the functions of URSB. They advised that the adoption of all the services should be staggered until the entity is fully ready. The minister has been mandated under the law to announce the date when Ugandans will start going to NIRA for civil marriages and registration.
Other duties transferred to NIRA include licensing and registration of churches that would wish to celebrate marriages, creation, maintenance and update of registers relating to matters required for registration under the Marriage Act and the Customary Marriage (Registration) Act and all other laws regulating marriage and holding and dissemination of information in relation to marriages celebrated in Uganda.
NIRA will also take on the creation, holding and updating of an adopted children register.
New nira services
1. Celebration and registration of civil marriages
2. Registration of all faith-based marriages, customary marriages and civil marriages
3. Licensing and registration of churches that would wish to celebrate marriages
4. Creation, maintenance and update of registers relating to matters required for registration under the Marriage Act and the Customary Marriage (Registration) Act and all other laws regulating marriages
5. Holding and dissemination of information in relation to marriages celebrated in Uganda, including the issuance of single status letters to those wishing to solemnise their marriages.
