AYV News, August 22, 2023
The Director General (DG) of the National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA), Mohamed Mubashir Massaquoi, has stated that: “Government through the Accountant General’s department is now running a predictable payroll, characterised with integrity and accountability”.
He was speaking during a courtesy call on the NCRA by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Major General (Rtd), David T.O. Taluva. The aim of the visit by the Minister was to familiarise himself with the NCRA as a way of interacting with the top management of the Authority, as well as to have a first-hand update on the general operations of Civil registration, Vital Statistics and Identity Management in Sierra Leone.
D.G Massaquoi further stated that the Authority has also successfully introduced and assigned the National Identification Numbers (NIN) to all citizens and other nationals that have registered with the NCRA, and now issues Securitized Birth and Death certificates.
This, according to the DG, has been achieved with the support of their esteemed development partners.
During a Power Point presentation, DG Massaquoi gave an overview of the Authority, the governance structure of the NCRA, challenges and achievements over the years and planned activities for the next fiscal year.
He indicated that other institutions before now have been conducting registrations, and there was no central control handling the responsibility at a one-stop shop. This, according to the DG, had the tendency of providing variances and unparalleled figures on recorded vital events in the country.
Thus, the Government of Sierra Leone, together with Development Partners, saw the need for the establishment of the Authority charged with the responsibility of housing civil registration Vital Statistics and Identity management in the country.
The New Minister was further informed that the NCRA is now visible and operational in all the sixteen (16) administrative districts across the country.
Lastly, the Director General intimidated Major General (Rtd) David T.O Taluva that NCRA, in collaboration with Constrast Systems; an ID production company in the country, now produces and issues Multi-Purpose Biometric Identity Cards to Citizens, citizens of ECOWAS member States and other Nationals.
In his response, the Minister of Internal Affairs; Major General (Rtd) David T.O Taluva thanked the Director General for his insightful presentation. He enquired about the Data protection Bill, which the NCRA, with support from other partners had developed for it to be promulgated into Law.
He noted that the Data protection and the Cyber Security Laws are of immense importance for national security. He added that the NIN can be a tool to contain Money laundry activities, SIM Card registration with Mobile Network Operators and also help minimise other nefarious crimes.
