Prime
Govt to register 3m youth ahead of polls
The State minister for Internal Affairs, Gen David Muhoozi (left) and the ministry’s Permanent Secretary Lt Gen Joseph Musanyufu appear before the parliamentary Committee on Defence and Internal Affairs at Parliament on August 15, 2024. PHOTO/DAVID LUBOWA
What you need to know:
- The State minister for Internal Affairs says the most probable date for commencement of the renewal of IDs, which was initially July 1, has been extended to October 15.
The government is targeting to register three million youth aged 16 who do not have national identity cards and will be turning 18 in 2026.
The aim is to make them eligible to participate in the general polls.
The State Minister for Internal Affairs, Gen David Muhoozi, has called upon the targeted youths to use the next few weeks to register themselves.
“Within the next two months, government will focus on the 16-year-olds and above, who are not on the register, in order to ensure that we live within the November 30 Electoral Commission set timeline,” Gen Muhoozi said during a media briefing in Kampala last Friday.
“During the period leading up to October 15, persons aged 16 years and above, or those who will be 18 years by January 2026, are advised to register and acquire a NIN (National Identification Number) using the current registration system. The working estimate for this category of citizens is within the region of three million,” he added.
The minister also outlined several activities, including the hiring of 13,000 staff to carry out mass enrolment in 10,717 parishes ahead of the forthcoming mass renewal of the national identity cards that have started expiring.
Gen Muhoozi said the most probable date for commencement of the renewal of IDs, which was initially July 1, has been extended to October 15.
“When the new system [is set up], we will commence with preregistration online followed by the capturing of biometrics at the Parish level [2-3 weeks] after the online pre-registration exercise. The logic for this is to allow the deployment of the registration kits, which will be delivered in batches,” Gen Muhoozi said.
Furthermore, the minister disclosed that those whose ID cards expire this year get a one year extension.
“This is meant to ensure there is no disruption to service delivery for the card bearers whose IDs may expire within this period,” he said.
The National Identification Registration Authority (NIRA) expects the delivery of 5,650 Biometric Registration kits, blank cards, acquisition of the five software modules for the exercise to ensure commencement and smooth running of the exercise, which is expected to go up to January 2025.
