By Amin Kef Sesay
The vast majority of Sierra Leonean have been expressing indignation over the undue and unfathomed delay on the part of the institution that is mandated to issue out Identity Cards, the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA), to do so, saying it is now long overdue for such to have commenced.
These dissatisfied citizens have squarely lay the blame on the Director General of NCRA, Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi, maintaining that he has so far proven that he is unequal to the task furthering that if that is the case then he should no longer hold that position.
“We have been following his strides closely and from what we know he started on a sound footing but along the line it became noticeable that he is not, and by extension the institution, is not doing much to ensure that tangible results are seen or realized,” a cross-section of them lamented adding that he may have all the requisite academic qualifications but what is important is to solidly deliver to the delight of many. They claimed that what is so frustrating is the fact that it is now almost five years running since the Authority was enacted and given the mandate to perform.
“Some of us are mindful of the fact that the Government and some of its donor partners have injected huge chunks of money in order to give the NCRA the financial muscle to deliver but lamentably we are yet to see them do so,” one of them sadly informed this medium highlighting that the NCRA has kept sealed lips over the issue rather than informing the citizenry about what the status quo is.
Another stated that what is so painful is the fact that to access certain facilities one must produce a National Identification Card and if he or she does not have such then he or she will be denied those facilities unless otherwise discretion is used to reach an agreeable understanding. For example, to open a bank account an individual must present a National ID Card or a Passport and indeed it is really disgusting when such are not available.
“I was really embarrassed at one point in time especially when I went to collect some amount of money that was remitted to me and wanting to access it I was requested to produce a National ID Card which I didn’t have and had to go the extra mile to link the sender and the Foreign Exchange Bureau before I was given the money,” a middle aged lady bemoaned underscoring that it is really shameful as a nation for the State not to be in the position to issue National ID Cards to its citizens when at this point in time we should be talking of decentralizing the activities of the NCRA.
A Social Commentator noted that Sierra Leone, being a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) , its citizens have the right of free movement within the bloc without necessarily having passports but rather Non-Citizen Identification Cards.
He stated that as at now when the NCRA is seemingly dysfunctional, being unable to issue Identification Cards, such free movement is done otherwise maintaining that it is very embarrassing, defeating one of the purposes why the ECOWAS was established which is free movement of persons and goods.
“The NCRA cannot pull wool over our eyes by using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse for its incompetence simply because they had ample time, even before the outbreak, to have set up all the necessary infrastructure or architecture to commence the issuance of National ID Cards and so it is one excuse that cannot be tenable,” a Development Studies Lecturer averred arguing that it seems that inefficiency is at play.
In this country, the right to national identity is enshrined in the 1991 constitution and is a fundamental human right tied to other rights and entitlement to some services provided by Government. An Integrated National Civil Registration System, as established by law in the National Civil Registration Act of 2016, provides for the issuance of multi-purpose National e-Identity Cards that can be used by Citizens and Non-Citizen residents in all areas where identity verification is required.
Some have said that there had been a lot of excuses given by the Director General of NCRA, Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi, without seeing any light at the end of the tunnel.
There is a particular school of thought which holds the view that the NCRA DG had been putting premium on Verification of Personal Details, which they think is long overdue even before the corona virus struck.
That exercise, they said, involves a lot of money and procurement processes, furthering that considering the fact that there are 17 NCRA offices in the 16 Administrative districts, that exercise must have been accomplished and from there move the process forward.
Indeed, capacity building is very much important for effective service delivery in any institution but when it is frequently done it might raise eyebrows. Based on what that particular school of thought stated the NCRA do conduct frequent trainings highlighting that such are not feasible, creating no meaningful impacts and sometimes very costly, all said to be from the tax payers’ monies.
The United Nations guidelines on Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) stipulate that Civil Registration Systems need to be organized such that the registration covers the entire country and every citizen and non-citizen resident in that country. Sierra Leone, in trying to meet the UN Guidelines, the Parliament passed an act in June 2016 to create the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA).
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 its Act, to use the data to generate a National Identification Number (NIN) for every citizen and non-citizen resident in Sierra Leone and to issue the National Identity Card.
However, since its inception after the enactment of the June 2016 Act the NCRA has little to show in terms of the fulfilment of its mandate.
For example, one of the objectives for which the Authority was established is to develop and maintain an accurate electronic database of the population of Sierra Leone.
Lamentably, it is now nearly five years down the line since the NCRA Act was established and it is nearly three years since the current administration took charge to steer the NCRA to achieve its objectives by carrying out the stipulated functions but there has been abysmal outcomes despite the provision of funds by the Government of Sierra Leone and Development Partners.
In terms of developing and maintaining an accurate electronic database of the population of Sierra Leone, the NCRA does not have an accurate electronic database of the entire population of Sierra Leone and therefore cannot issue National Identification Numbers to every citizen and resident in Sierra Leone despite the huge amount of money pumped by donors and Government into the institution.
Ultimately, the NCRA cannot give the citizens and residents of this country the much needed National Identity Card on which majority of the population’s livelihood depends.
Majority of the citizens are now really pissed off with the inertia on the part of the NCRA with some of them saying in as much as members of staff of that institution are paid out of taxpayers’ monies they must be seen to be delivering according to their stipulated mandate.
