Government is in plans to introduce new and enhanced identity card by 2024, internal affairs minister Gen. Jeje Odongo has revealed.
The new National IDs according to Odongo will be digitalized to enable citizens make business transactions and foreign traves.
“We want an enhanced national ID that will enable people move to other countries easily but also enable them transact business.”
Odongo disclosed on Friday at NIRA country offices in Kololo Kampala during a handover function to receive new Executive Director, Rosemary Kisembo.
He said the move is already in the pipeline and urged the new ED to ensure it is realized by the year 2024.
“We expect a new and enhanced identity card by 2024. The journey has already begun but we would like you to grab the bull by the horns so that by 2024 we have a new card with an electronic chip and other new features,”Odong said.
The new IDs when enhanced will have new readable features to enable NIRA hold more data on it for security purposes.
“The new ID that we envisage in 2024 will have enhanced features and most likely we will have it digitalized so we will be able to hold more data on that same facility(ID).It will be more a little robust than we have now,” Gen Jeje Odong said.
Odongo was skeptical on the maturity (expiry dates) of the new IDs but stressed that government will engage stakeholders on the same.
In 2014, government through National Identification and Registrations Authority(NIRA) started mass registration of citizens for issuance of the national Identity Cards and has by today issued IDs to at least 25 million Ugandans.
