By Nasratu Kargbo
The Director General of the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) Mohamed Massaqoui says the authority with support from partners will introduce the use of online securitized legal identity documents next week. He told the weekly government news conference in Freetown on Thursday 9 September 2021 that the measure is aimed at mitigating identity fraud in the country.
He said for a very long time identity fraud using legal documents have been prevalent for a very long time in this country and vowed to put a stop to such an act.
He said the NCRA has commenced data sharing with other relevant institutions in the country such as Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA), National Revenue Authority (NRA) and Births and Deaths etc. Massaquoi stated that section 25 of the NCRA Act gives them the mandate to interpret and share data with ministries or institutions in order to support public administration in the country.
Speaking on some of the benefits of such a system, he explained it will disable the use of different information such as dates of births, names etc. in different documents. As an example, one will not have a date of birth in their driver’s license and a different one in their birth certificate. This new development will ensure that every institution is provided with the correct data on a specific individual which NCRA can use to track individuals who have multiple businesses but pay for one.
Reacting to a question on misappropriation of funds by the NCRA, Massaqoui denied stating that they cannot be accused of misappropriation when the NCRA has not completed the nationwide identity verification or confirmation exercise yet. Questioned about a letter making rounds on social media alleging EU has suspended funding for the NCRA, he dismissed such a letter which he said was on social media and not for him, and directed journalists to his office where specialists sent by the EU are still working with the NCRA.
Massaquoi also announced that NCRA will resume confirmation of identities in the districts of Kenema, Kono and Kailahun. The process will run from the 21 September 2021 to the 30th. The Eastern region will constitute four hundred and sixty three confirmation Centre’s and roaming teams. He mentioned that NCRA has had discussions with NaCOVERC, to ensure all precautionary measures were observed.
Copyright © 2021 Politico (10/09/21)
