Malawi national IDs registration to start this year-Minister

Minister of Home of affairs Uladi Mussa Tuesday told Parliament that the process of introducing Identity Cards (ID’s) for the country’s citizens is underway and that very soon the registration exercise will start.

The Minister said this in response to a question from Member of Parliament for Mangochi Malombe Romeo Bwanali who asked the Minister to inform the house on the stage at which the process of introducing the national Id’s is.

“I would like to inform the honourable house and the Malawi nation that the issue of national ID’s is of national importance and it is one issue that the current administration is holding dear to its heart and very soon the process will get off the ground,” said Mussa.

The National Registration Bureau (NRB), the Malawi government’s organ tasked to oversee the process of issuing national identity documents (IDs) is on record assuring Malawians that they will have their national IDs by the end of 2013.

National IDs for Malawi soon
National IDs for Malawi soon

NRB’s Director Peter Chitedze told a local radio, Radio Islam that the process is taking time to reach completion because phase two of the national registration system will require substantial amount of money.

“I would like to assure Malawians that there are so many factors that come into play in government programs and projects. But all things being equal, I believe that 2013 will not end before Malawians start being issues with birth certificates and national identity cards”, he said.

Malawi hasn’t had national identification documents for its citizens. Instead people have been using voter registration certificates, passport and driving license a development which Chitedze said is legally incorrect.

“A passport is a travel document. Driver’s license is a document to allow somebody permission to drive a vehicle on the road. A voter certificate is for an eligible voter in line with elections ACT and it’s for people who are 18 years and above. So legally these are not identification documents,” he said.

The exercise has faced some problems to roll out.  In 2000, the High Court ordered government to halt plans to engage Secucom Holdings International of Switzerland in a controversial 26-million-US-dollar national identity card contract.

The Swiss company sued Malawi’s corruption-busting body – the Anti-Corruption Bureau – after the bureau had instituted a corruption probe into how the tender was awarded.

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