By Foday Moriba Conteh
During a press conference held at the Ministry of Finance Conference Hall on George Street in Freetown, the Director General of the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) Mohamed Massaquoi informed pressmen that the Government of Sierra Leone through Parliament has ratified a 15-year Agreement between the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) and Constrat Systems SL LTD for the production of Securitized and Multi-purpose Identity (ID) Cards (National & ECOWAS Compliant), ID Verification System and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). The ID Cards will be accessed and utilized by citizens and other Residents in Sierra Leone.
He said that these Chip-based ID Cards will ensure proper identification and authentication using the National Identification Number (NIN) as a unique identifier that will neither be duplicated nor re-used and assigned from birth to death, thereby strengthening accountability and transparency in Public Administration, governance and accountable service delivery, while also serving as a deterrent to any attempt at identity fraud or manipulation.
On behalf of the Authority he announced that the following categories of ID Cards will be produced which includes National Identity Cards that will be limited to Sierra Leoneans only, ECOWAS ID Cards- on demand for use within ECOWAS member States, Sierra Leone ECOWAS ID Cards – also on demand for Sierra Leoneans wishing to travel within member States consistent with the ECOWAS Protocol to promote free movement, integration, trade liberalization etc. and Non-National ID Cards – Mandatory for all foreign residents in Sierra Leone.
Mohamed Massaquoi further intimated that these legal Identity documents will be mandatory to access services that include but will not be limited to the following: transactions with financial institutions (Banks, Forex Bureau, Insurance Companies etc); Vehicle Registration and Licensing; Recruitment into Public and Private Institutions for consistency in personal information and verification; NASSIT enrolment; Land and Property Registration; Enrolment into Educational institutions including Public Exams; SIM Card Registration to account for every communication in order to halt abuse and pranks; Vital Events, Registration such as Births, Deaths, Adoptions, Marriages (Civil, Christian, Mohammedan and Traditional) and Divorces; Immigration Services- Residence and Work Permits and Business Registration and Incorporation among others.
“Moreover, these Securitized Multi-purpose ID Cards will be associated with benefits that will enable citizens and other residents to access services such as healthcare, education, social security, financial transactions and other public services, as well as support tax administration, immigration opportunities, financial inclusion etc. It will also enable citizens and others to exercise their civil right to secure protection against sexual offences on the girl child, child Labour, early marriage, teenage pregnancy, Identity manipulation, impersonation etc. by providing proof of identity and other demographic details such as age thus halting dynamism of personal information,” he maintained.
The Director General also pointed out that the NRA is pleased to inform the general public that Identity services will be decentralized where the ID Cards when produced will be issued in District headquarter towns as well as other communities with high population in order to ease the burden on the movement of the public to acquire ID Cards from Freetown, adding that these Identity services will complement Government’s efforts in providing details of perpetrators of crime to the security sector.
He said that through the ID Verification System, personal information of people will be authenticated by institutions authorized to access the ID System at the NCRA to guarantee consistency of personal information and halt dynamism and abuse of such information thus ensuring a reliable track or record of every transaction whether business or communication digitally.
