Scrap new fees on IDs for older persons, MPs ask govt
A sample of a Ugandan national ID. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- Last month, the Minister of Internal Affairs Gen Kahinda Otafire, informed Parliament that the government had resolved that all persons seeking to expressly attain new IDs will have to pay Shs50,000 to get them. He added that persons seeking to replace lost IDs or correct errors on their cards will have to pay Shs200,000.
Legislators on the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Social Protection have asked the government to scrap off fees to be paid by Ugandans prior to the attainment of a National Identity Card and replacement of lost ones.
Last month, the Minister of Internal Affairs Gen Kahinda Otafire, informed Parliament that the government had resolved that all persons seeking to expressly attain new IDs will have to pay Shs50,000 to get them. He added that persons seeking to replace lost IDs or correct errors on their cards will have to pay Shs200,000.
In their joint address to the media on Friday morning at Parliament, the Members of Parliament want priority to be given to older persons in this regard reasoning that elderly persons in Uganda are largely trapped in abject poverty and highly impoverished.
“The fees attached to correction of particulars and renewal are unaffordable. If this proposal is implemented, the majority of older persons will be denied access to most of the services that require one to present a national ID first, such as Senior Citizens Grant,” Ms Flavia Kabanda, the forum chairperson said.
She said that the requirements for correcting errors on a national ID are prohibitive. They include a statutory declaration that is registered by the Uganda Registration Services Bureau, a test report from the directorate of government analytical laboratory based on means of establishing correct age, either academic documents, a birth certificate or a baptism card.
“Many vulnerable persons are unable to access legal services for a statutory declaration and the other stated requirements,” Ms Kabanda said.
The same sentiments were shared by the Kumi Municipality MP, Mr Silas Aogon.
“If we take a decision of raising the cost of replacing the ID, we are simply leaving the older persons behind. The issue of correcting errors must not attract any charges. Let us ease the process,” he argued.
Considering that the Kololo Independence grounds where the majority of Ugandans flood to register and or acquire national IDs is largely used for national ceremonies, the MPs want the government to plan, budget and ensure that a specific venue is secured as a specific home for National Identification Registration Authority (NIRA).
“We are urging the government to give us a permanent home for NIRA. Kololo is no longer feasible. You find this place working once or twice a week. Whenever there are national celebrations, it is a no-go area. Let us do it now that the budgeting process is getting underway so that it is planned for,” said Mr Milton Muwuma.
He also wants the government to create a special desk with specific technology to handle older persons applying for and picking their national IDs since they cannot stand in the queue for long hours.
Processes of acquiring a national ID in the country have for long been clogged with irregularities, with applicants dismayed by the persistent delays and alleged bribery.
