The National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) with mandate of registering all Ugandan citizens has announced the mass ID enrollment and renewal exercise which is set to start in June 2023 and end in August 2024.

According to NIRA, the exercise is directed at renewing all cards issued between 2014 and 2015 in keeping with legal provisions in the registration of persons Act 2015 and registering the estimated 17.4 million Ugandans who are not registered in the national identification register.

“As of September 2022, the national identification register had 25.9 million Ugandans registered. It is estimated that 17.4 million Ugandans are not registered in the National Identification Register,” the statement read.

The renewal and registration exercise according to NIRA will be conducted at the parish level in a bid to extend services near to citizens to enhance effective registration of all Ugandans.

NIRA officials have emphasized that enrolling and renewing of ID cards is free of charge and it does not cost the applicant any amount to renew. However, according to NIRA, for those who will opt for express printing will be required to pay a certain fee.

NIRA also clarified on who is eligible for mass enrollment stating that any person who has never applied for registration of a national ID or National Identification Number (NIN), or a person who applied but has never received a NIN qualifies.

According to NIRA, the new features on the National ID will be more technological than the current one.

“The new card will bare salient security features which distinguish it from the ordinary ones to make it more suitable for the current technological trend,” the statement read.

NIRA stated that the new features for instance, digital images of the Uganda Court of Arms and other artifacts are securely embedded on multiple layers of the poly carbonate card making it difficult to fake. The face image of the card holder is also embedded using optical variable ink which is also difficult to imitate.

NIRA also confirmed that the new ID has been upgraded to cater for persons with disabilities.

“It also has a feature that allows persons with sight challenges to touch and feel selected identifiers among others,” stated NIRA.

According to NIRA, the new card has multiple functions which will promote the e-government services and national, international electronic transactions in health, banking, tourism, agriculture and many other sectors in the economy.

NIRA will also provide an application that will be used to verify authenticity of the card while protecting the privacy of the card owner.

“It will promote e-commerce as it will give confidence to online transactions and subsequently lower the cost of electronic transactions and credit to Uganda,” the statement read.

NIRA officials added that the new card will support a feature that requires the owner of the card to give consent in a seamless manner, to everyone who wishes to view or retrieve their information.

NIRA continues to reaffirmed that any person who defaults on renewal of the National ID will be required to pay a fee of not more than Ugx400,000 in respect of each day of default. The hybrid ID will not expire because it shall have an electric version which does not expire.