By Amin Kef Sesay
The hue and cry by majority of Sierra Leoneans that became so loud recently and was amplified by this medium over the delay in the issuance of National Identity Cards for citizens and non-citizens resident in Sierra Leone by the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) has finally been laid to rest as the institution has ultimately stated its position on the issue. The position stated by the institution is indeed a clear indication that the NCRA had not and is still not resting on its oars but rather assiduously working towards the fulfilment of its mandate.
In an interview that was granted by the Director General of NCRA, Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi, he sincerely intimated that the institution was on the verge of convening a Press Conference to intimate the general public about how far the institution has gone in rolling out plans or strides that will lead to the issuance of ID Cards, but coincidently it happened that unfortunately there were certain social media publications that created the impression that the institution is not equal to the task.
The NCRA Director General furthered that the procurement process and other critical preparations leading to the production of a Multi-purpose National Identity Card as well as ECOWAS Compliant Identity Cards have commenced and are in line with the Public Procurement Regulations including International best practices.
“Currently, adverts are out using International Competitive Bidding method requesting Firms with competence in the production and management of securitized Identity Cards both physical and digital for consideration,” he revealed adding how the NCRA has at its request received professional guidance from ECOWAS, the UN and the EU Identity Management Expert on the design and specification of standard Identification Cards consistent with international standards.
The Director General, who has a wealth of experience in data collection and its related disciplines, explained that as a temporary measure, the NCRA issues Certificate of Registration and Citizenship to citizens and other residents at no cost to allow them to transact their normal businesses without hindrance.
“This is a way to assuage any challenge residents may face in transacting business for lack of Identity Cards,” he underscored.
He continued by stating that the Government of Sierra Leone, through the Ministry of Finance, is committed to providing support for the decentralized Production and Issuance of Multi-purpose National ID Cards for citizens and non-citizens as well as ECOWAS compliant ID Cards that will be issued on demand to the travelling population.
The highly busy NCRA Boss, who is said to be a workaholic and result-oriented personality by his peers, said he and by extension the NCRA is encouraging members of the public to continue to exercise patience as Identity Cards are “security documents” that if not managed well, can expose a nation and its people to security threats associated with and constitutes human trafficking, money laundering, terrorism, fraud, identity manipulation among others.
He assured that the NCRA is committed to providing Civil Registration and Identity services that befits the people of Sierra Leone as mandated by the NCR Act of 2016 and conforms with international standards.
Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi noted that they are encouraging citizens and other residents to make themselves visible for Government to account for them (their existence and permanent legal exit – death) through the registration of their vital events that includes Births, Deaths, Marriages, Divorces, Adoptions and Nullities.
He reiterated that overhauling a system that was nearly dysfunctional cannot be done overnight especially with regards putting all the necessary infrastructure and gadgets together relating to the issuance of ID Cards underscoring that what they are working towards achieving is the production of a comprehensive ID Card that will capture an individual’s Bio Data contrary to the ordinary ID Card that was formerly produced.
“It is complex process than what used to obtain which is why it is important for citizens and non-citizens to understand that the NCRA is meticulously doing its job so that at the end of the day we will all have ID Cards that will stand the test of time and used to serve multi-purposes,” he maintained adding that their doors are always open to the public for enquiries or clarifications.
He argued that there is no way one can rule out the negative impact COVID-19 is having on their work as some of the stakeholders they are closely collaborating with are nationals of countries that the pandemic has seriously affected. “Even some of the infrastructure that are key to our work must be imported but with the prevalence of COVID-19 things have slowed down,” he pointed out stating that he is not making an excuse but laying the fact bare.
He once more called on members of the public to continue to exercise patience assuring that very soon everything will be in place.
In another engagement on Radio Democracy 98.1, the NCRA Director General, Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi, informed Sierra Leoneans that if all goes well the institution will start to issue Identity Cards by June this year.
The mandate of NCRA, according to the 2016 Act, is to register all citizens and non-citizens resident in Sierra Leone. In addition, NCRA is to register all vital events (including Births, Deaths, Marriages, Adoptions, Nullities and Separations) on a Continuous, Permanent, Compulsory and Universal basis at the chiefdom and ward levels across the country.
As stipulated in the Act, the use of the data is to generate a National Identification Number (NIN) for every citizen and non-citizen resident in Sierra Leone and to issue the National Identity Card.
