Government Begins implementation of the Biometric Enabled National Registration Cards

Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Jack Mwiimbu has told Parliament that the Government through his ministry has commenced the implementation of the Integrated National Registration Information system (INRIS) in Lusaka and 10 other districts.

The INRIS is the national and civil registration management information system which is intended to provide biometric enabled national registration cards and issuance of birth and death certificates by the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security through the department of national registration, passports and citizenship.

In a Ministerial Statement delivered in Parliament recently, Mr. Mwiimbu said the development of the INRIS has been completed and the hardware connectivity configuration has been set up.

He said the INRIS has also been successfully deployed in eleven (11) districts namely: Choma, Livingstone, Mongu, Solwezi, Ndola, Mansa, Kasama, Chinsali, Chipata, Lusaka and Kabwe.

“The ministry is charged with the responsibility of conducting national and civil registration. In addition, the ministry is authorized to issue travel documents and facilitate the acquisition of citizenship. The mandate is derived from the national registration act cap 126, passport act 28 of 2016, citizenship act number 33 of 2016, birth and death registration act cap 51, marriage act cap 50 and the adoption act cap 54 of the laws of Zambia. National registration covers registration of all eligible persons and issuing them with appropriate national registration cards, as legal identity, in accordance with the national registration act chapter 126 of the laws of Zambia,” Mr. Mwiimbu said.

“Madam Speaker, you may wish to note that, in 1965, the country started the issuance of national registration cards to citizens aged 16 years and above using a manual and paper based system. Since then, the manual and paper based system has not changed despite it being susceptible to fraud and other abuses. The manual system has also failed to respond to demands arising from continued growth in population and rapid changes in technology which has resulted in problems such as duplication of national registration card (NRC) numbers, identity fraud and challenges in records management. Madam speaker, the current manual based system lacks mechanisms to prevent foreigners from registering as Zambians, especially during outreach programmes such as the mobile issuance of national registrations in border areas. Registration officers solely depend on the use of affidavits to register a person. The INRIS, however, will assign a national identity number at birth as opposed to when a citizen is 16 years old. This will make it very difficult for any ineligible person to register as a Zambian citizen,” Mr. Mwiimbu stated.

The Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security said the integrated national registration information system will provide wider services beyond the issuance of biometric enabled digital NRC’s and civil registration.

“The benefits of INRIS will include: a) Enhanced security system through proper identification of citizens. Individuals will not easily change their identity as the case may be for some re-offenders; b) the biometric identification system will contribute towards promotion of good governance and reduced cost of voter registration. the system will enhance the electoral process by facilitating effective voter registration and identification;c) government will minimise wasteful expenditure as ministries, provinces and other spending agencies will not need to invest in similar biometric identification infrastructure but ride on the INRIS platform;d) optimisation of administration of various public service systems: such as strengthened tax administration by broadening the tax base, strengthened social services administration by preventing double dipping and ineligible beneficiaries and promotion of health insurance administration by providing unique identity for beneficiaries; and e) the biometric enabled digital NRC with financial wallets will contribute towards financial inclusion among the unbanked population,” Mr. Mwiimbu said.

The Monze Central Member of Parliament revealed that the implementation exercise is estimated to cost a total of K1,069,366,200.

“In addition, the house may wish to note that enrolment for those obtaining national registration cards has commenced in the above-mentioned districts which includes; capturing of biometrics and registration of births as well as issuance of birth certificate using the system. Further, to curb the problem of ghost workers on the payroll in the public service, the government has prioritised enrolment of all public service workers,” Mr. Mwiimbu said.

He concluded:”Finally, I would like to assure the nation through this august house that the ministry of home affairs through the department of national registration, passport and citizenship will do its best in ensuring that all citizens and eligible residents are uniquely identified to promote internal security and also to enhance service delivery by both government and the private sector. The ministry is collaborating with stakeholders to make sure that this exercise is successfully undertaken. I, therefore, wish to implore the general public to appreciate the value of this migration and to cooperate during this very important national programme as routine enrolment has commenced, while field mobile enrolments are planned to commence as soon as resources are made available. The exercise is estimated to cost a total of ZMW 1,069,366,200. This includes deploying of the system to district offices, enrolment of citizens through routine and mobile registration as well as issuance of cards.”