By Amin Kef Sesay
It has been indisputably affirmed that the appointment of Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi as Director General of the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) was indeed one of the best things that President Julius Maada Bio did after his election victory in 2018.
This assertion is justified when one takes a critical look at the sterling reforms and work ethics that the current Director General of that institution instituted that have made a former moribund institution to become one of the most referenced entity when it comes to contacting it for the provision of vital information relating to the personal information or details of citizens and non-citizens which Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) may be interested in accessing.
It will be recalled that the NCRA Bill was enacted by Parliament on the 30th June 2016 to pave the way for the establishment of the National Civil Registration Authority and undertaking of Civil Registration in the country.
The Authority is responsible for the continuous, permanent and compulsory recording of occurrences and characteristics of vital events including births, deaths, marriages, divorces, nullities and adoptions.
However, most members of the public know the NCRA exclusively as the institution responsible for the issuance of National Identification Cards ,which for legal identification sake and for accessing certain services from institutions are demanded for in order for the purpose of undertaking verification.
Prior to the appointment of the current Director General there was a breakdown in the issuance of Identification Cards for reasons largely attributed to faulty infrastructure in terms of the non-functionality of its machines used in the process.
When he was appointed by President Bio to head that very important institution, the first thing that Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi accomplished was to sync the institution with major key sector players and donor agencies in order to navigate the way forward in the revitalization of the institution in order for it to deliver on its mandate.
It will interest most to know that such a methodology produced fruitful dividends in the sense that the institution was able to develop strategies to make civil registration a success story in the country with the continuous collation and processing of data relating to the personal information or details of citizens and non-citizens in the country.
Under his watch and guidance, the NCRA, of late, has been able to develop and strengthen the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics systems which are considered very important for improving the quality of the country’s data base and for using such information to guide policies and programmes.
Through his leadership, the NCRA has been able to capture the broader concept in the United Nations definition of a vital statistics system as, “the total process of collecting information by civil registration or enumeration on the frequency or occurrence of specified and defined vital events, as well as relevant characteristics of the events themselves and the person or persons concerned.
Amidst many apprehensions , but through his dogged determination and coordination, the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) successfully completed a nationwide Confirmation and Registration exercise of citizens and other residents which started on the 6th of May 2021 in the Western Area and ended on the 3rd October, 2021 in Bo district. The data for new Registrants, captured during this period, has now been transmitted to the Central System at the NCRA Headquarters, with the institution also undertaking the uploading for those that confirmed their personal information and to determine possible duplicates or multiple registration.
The institution also concluded a nationwide Stakeholders Consultative Meeting on the proposed Data Protection Law and Regulation which was a continuation of the many meetings held with stakeholders to elicit participants opinion and/or position with regards the drafting of the Data Protection Policy, Bill and Regulations to be debated in Parliament at a later date.
Many could be wondering why it is that, of recent times, the NCRA has become such a vibrant public institution. The answer simply lies in the fact that the NCRA has been shaped by the Director General to become one of the most transparent and non-corrupt people friendly public entities in the country today.
It would be an understatement to state that members of staff are very helpful and friendly in the discharge of their respective assignments. For sure, no money changes hands at NCRA for the service they provide to the public.
Many that this medium interacted with to sound their opinions about the institution highly commended the Management and Staff for living up to the highest level of selfless public service.
“Other MDAs can greatly help to change the country’s development narrative if they do adopt NCRA’s devotion to serve-the –people-well mentality,” a renowned Political Commentator informed this medium.
It must be noted at this juncture that indeed, the man at the helm of affairs was just not appointed for appointment sake but as a result of his professionalism because as enshrined in his terms of reference he has, so far, been able to provide overall leadership and guidance in the conduct and management of the day-to-day operations of the Authority as well as initiate and maintain high level contact with interested parties, both local and international in relevant areas of the Authority.
He has more than 15 years of enviable professional experience in administration, management, programming, peace building and consolidation and democratic governance. He has worked with both local and International Organizations including the United Nations.
Prior to his appointment as NCRA’s Director-General, he served as Program Specialist/ Coordinator for the Integrated Health Projects Administration Unit (IHPAU) in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation where he impeccably coordinated and managed donor support to the health sector in Sierra Leone with transparency and accountability and as Program Implementation Coordinator for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Sierra Leone attached to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation; and as Elections Expert at the National Electoral Commission.
As an Elections Expert, he served as Head of the Elections Logistics, Planning, and Security in the National Electoral Commission till 2007 and as a member of the UN International Technical Assistance Team that managed and conducted Afghanistan’s first democratic elections where he served as International Expert in Elections Logistics, Planning and Security in Kandahar, Southern Afghanistan in 2004.
He is a United Nations Certified and Rostered Expert in Democratic Governance and Electoral Systems and a Rostered candidate for Civil Affairs Officer at the P – 4 Level of the United Nations.
Currently, he is the appointed Ambassador for ID4Africa Movement in Sierra Leone and the elected Regional Vice Chairman (West Africa), Bureau of Civil Registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management in Africa.
He holds an M.Sc. Degree in Development Studies and a BA Degree in English and Political Science. Additionally, he has had professional training in diverse disciplines and holds Diplomas and Certificates in relevant areas that include Contract Management, Financial Management, Democratic Governance, Project Management, Electoral Systems, Peace and Security, Monitoring and Evaluation.
