Officials at the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) have briefed representatives of political parties and civil society organisations on the ongoing process by the Authority to capture the data of all people resident in Sierra Leone, including foreign nationals, in a mass civil registration drive. The engagement took place yesterday at the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Freetown.
The event saw the official presentation of the undertakings by NCRA so far, such as the recruitment of persons at district level to give the process credibility in the eyes of the locals, the establishment of structures in every district where people can go and register and the presence of one observer for each registration centre who will clearly display their accreditation.
People already registered will have to confirm their details, whilst new registrants can have it done at the centres. Piloting of the scheme is scheduled for this December, the exact date to be announced in due course.
According to the NCRA Director General, Mohamed Massaquoi, the mass civil registration process would have started in March this year but for the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. He said activities related to the confirmation of the register in their care were ongoing, and he assured that the process will be transparent as they are accountable to the people of the country.
He said the country has faced a lot of embarrassment at international fora because of lack of essential data that the government’s international development partners request from time to time for their various projects. He indicated a marked improvement in data collection in recent years, citing as example the prompt presentation of data to the World Food Programme in the wake of an emergency in Kailahun district recently.
Massaquoi pointed out that civil registration, apart from giving digital identity to a person, would ensure the availability of an integrated system of details of all residents of Sierra Leone and enhance proper planning for public administration and service delivery for the people. The system will also help in the prudent allocation of resources across the country, the NCRA boss stated.
He also spoke of a Data Protection Bill that is being developed, which he said would be mindful of the privacy of individuals after the personal information of persons would have been integrated into the civil registration system.
Stakeholders, in their reactions, expressed delight at the work being undertaken by NCRA, they however encouraged the institution to raise their level of public education on the process after it was noticed that many people were unaware of the scheme.
It was also announced at the meeting that NCRA’s issuance of the National Identification Card and the ECOWAS Card will start in December.
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