By Jane Chanda
The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced plans to implement a project that will see the issuance of digital Identification Cards (IDs), aimed at addressing corruption and streamlining the registration process.
According to Home Affairs director of planning Goodson Sinyanga, the project, financed by the World Bank, aimed to create a platform for Home Affairs to provide solutions for digital IDs.
Speaking at the National Development Coordinating Committee meeting at Mulungushi International Conference Center last Friday, Sinyanga noted that the project kicked off with initial funding expected in the first quarter.
“The ministry is also working to capacitate itself to manage digital IDs. This development comes as the government seeks to address concerns about corruption and inefficiencies in the registration process,” he said.
Sinyanga also said the ministry had taken steps to address concerns about long queues at registration offices by constructing more offices across the country and procuring additional equipment, which would be distributed nationwide.
“As a Ministry, we will open more registration centers in big cities to help decongest queues at designated places. We are committed to providing efficient and corruption-free services to the public,” said Siyanga.
Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet Oliver Kalabo recently expressed concern about the tendency of parents to entice civil servants into corruption when obtaining National Registration Cards (NRCs) for their children.
Kalabo wondered why parents wait until the last minute to get NRCs for their children, only to offer bribes to expedite the process.
“I just want to address the issue of corruption, to flip the coin. Because many times we tend to talk about corruption, we focus on the public officers, the public servants, but we forget that you, the parents, you are the people who go to entice those civil servants,” Kalabo said.
Kalabo emphasised that corruption was a two-way street, and that parents played a significant role in perpetuating the problem.
