Uganda’s President Gen YK Museveni has yet again ordered the minister not to renew the Registration Authority (NIRA) Executive Director, Judy Obitre–Gama, contract. Whisper Eye Reports.
The President wrote to Gen Odongo the minister of internal affairs ordering him to work with the board of directors of NIRA and identify a suitable candidate.
He also asked Odongo to and “consult him , before a final decision is reached on the matter.”
“I have been informed that the contract of the current Executive Director is due to expire,” Museveni said in a letter to Internal Affairs Minister Gen Jeje Odong on May 18.
“Given the problems faced by NIRA especially, relatin to the issuance of national identity cards, there is a need to identify a new Executive Director preferably with a legal or information technology background.”
The embattled Judy Obitre–Gama has presided over the troubled institution since May 2015.
She, however, blames under staffing and inadequate resources for NIRA’s poor performance. Chimp reports says
Ugandans have been flocking Kololo grounds in purse of identification and due to poor coordination no tangible improvement has been in place as the process has been terrible.
Gen Odongo recently said the surging crowds at NIRA offices in Kololo were symptomatic of the inefficiency of the agency.
Most of the challenges affecting the authority include inadequate equipment, poor coordination between NIRA staff and the district coordination committee members.
In 2019, MP Odonga Otto demanded from government a detailed procedure of acquiring or replacing a national identity card.
“The ordinary person has to come to the NIRA centre that is functional in Kampala. Who are the upcountry offices serving?” Odonga Otto asked, adding that “We rent office space and pay salaries for staff who occupy these offices, but still people travel all the way to Kampala.”
His statements followed a huge public outcry over the grueling process of acquiring or replacing a national identity card.
Additional reporting by Chimp
