This is the stage of collecting finger prints and photographing individuals.
However, the National Identification Authority (NIDA) Information Officer, Agnes Gerald, told The Guardian yesterday that there are more stages before Dar residents are issued with the IDs.
She said the exercise cannot begin in other regions before it is completed in Dar, explaining: “There are many stages before one is issued with an ID.
“For instance, after the biometric stage, the names and pictures are posted on notice-boards where the data was collected to allow residents in the respective areas to submit any queries on any of the persons seeking IDs.”
“After getting the information we work on it and later the IDs are printed and verified by authorities,” she explained.
The verification is meant to ensure that people getting the IDs are Tanzanian citizens and not illegal immigrants, she said, noting: “For Kinondoni district, we will complete the biometric process next week. But we cannot say when the exercise will start in other regions since it can only do so after the IDs for Dar es Salaam – which is a pilot area – are ready.”
According to Gerald, there are multiple verifications before the IDs are finally printed to ensure accuracy of the information given.
During the inauguration of the national ID exercise held in Dar es Salaam in February this year, President Jakaya Kikwete assured NIDA that the government will boost its budget and human resources.
The aim was to speed up the issuance of IDs to all Tanzanian citizens before the general elections in 2015. However, the Dar es Salaam region pilot area has so far taken 11 months to complete the biometric process.
The full process might need more time, thus creating doubts whether every legitimate Tanzanian citizen will have an ID before the 2015 General Election.
In a telephone interview, the Director of the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC), Hellen Kijo-Bisimba, said given the current pace, chances are very slim for the exercise to be completed before the 2015 General Elections.
She said: “Unless they find another way of doing the work, they cannot manage to issue the national IDs to all citizens before the General Election.”
Reached for comment recently, the Civic United Front (CUF) National Chairman, Prof Ibrahim Lipumba, expressed concern at the slow pace of the exercise.
Prof Lipumba, who was among the 46 high profile people issued with IDs, said: “It is surprising that the exercise has taken almost a year in Dar es Salaam, despite the improved transport system.”
For his part, Prof Abdallah Safari also expressed doubts whether the exercise will be completed in time, given the size of the country.
He advised NIDA to adjust the speed of registering as well as recording people’s identification particulars.
“If not regulated, the exercise can lead to accumulation of wrong information,” he quipped.
During the 2013/2014 Financial Year NIDA was allocated with a budget of 161bn/- to ensure that the issuing of IDs is completed before the coming elections.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Stella Jimmy
Quelle/Source: IPPmedia, 31.12.2013
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