The National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) has postponed the mass enrollment and renewal of exercise for new national identity cards.

The exercise was supposed to roll out on June 1, 2024, but due to delays in the procurement processes, the exercise has been rescheduled until the end of July 2024.

“The mass enrollment and renewal exercise was set to start on June 1, 2024. However, due to unforeseen delays in the procurement process, the exercise did not take off. Nevertheless, by the end of July 2024, the exercise will commence,” said Rosemary Kisembo, the Executive Director of NIRA, on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, while addressing the media from her office in Kololo.

Kisembo emphasized that the government is taking all necessary measures to ensure that the delays do not affect service delivery or the road map.

“Aware of the electoral road map and the expiration of some cards beginning August 2024, the government, in consultation with the Attorney General’s Chambers, is putting measures in place to ensure that the public suffers no disadvantage because of the delays,” Kisembo added.

She assured the public that the government would deliver the exercise successfully within the stipulated timelines.

“In 2014, a similar exercise was successfully carried out over a period of four months. We will continuously update the public on progress in this matter,” Kisembo said.

More than 12,000 registration assistants were recently recruited by NIRA to facilitate exercise across the country.