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29^th July 2014

Rt. Hon Speaker, Hon. Members of Parliament, 1.0.

 

BACKGROUND

1.1. On Thursday 24^th July 2014, the House directed the Minister of Internal Affairs to brief Parliament on the on-going mass registration of citizens’ exercise under the National Security Information System (NSIS) Project.

I am pleased to present the brief:

1.2. On 10^th June 2013, Cabinet considered the matter of multiple registrations of persons by different institutions and decided that harmonization of related activities be made. Under the leadership of the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister, a Cabinet Sub- committee of Ministers whose ministries are involved in registering of persons was set up to look into the issue. Subsequently, a Multi-Sectoral National Technical Taskforce was set up under the leadership of the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Membership of the Technical Taskforce included Chief Executives of institutions who are involved in registering persons and other supporting Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s). (List of participating institutions and supporting MDA’s is at ANNEX 1). The taskforce, whose terms of reference included consideration of harmonizing registration of persons was tasked to develop a strategy and the necessary budget.

The taskforce had a series of stakeholders’ engagements on the subject and carried out benchmarking studies to learn lessons from countries which had gone through the same exercise. Kenya, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Rwanda were among the countries the team benchmarked. One very good lesson the team learnt was that a multi-sectoral/multi-institutional approach to registering persons for the purpose of setting up a comprehensive

 

National Identification Register was the way to go.

This is anemerging excellent model of delivering Government initiatives. Details of the benchmarking studies are at ANNEX 2.

1.3. Hon Members, after thorough planning and benchmarking, the Taskforce presented its findings to the Ministerial Sub-Committee. On the 1^st of November 2013, Cabinet approved a strategic and purposeful project of mass registration to be done in two Phases as indicated below. Cabinet approved the strategy, budget, roadmap, governance structures and the need for a harmonised law to govern the registration of persons. This strategic decision to register all her citizens and resident aliens will lead to the creation of a National Identification Register, which will be used by all Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA’s). The register will also be useful to private institutions.

The motivating factors for this Cabinet decision were:

a)   Minimize duplication of effort, waste of time and resources. We are doing this by harmonising registration processes and specifying the common data elements for all registrations. We have centralized data collection while arrangements for centralised access, use and management are ongoing.

b)  Stop unduly inconveniencing the public by going back to the same person for more or less the same information (names, parents’ names, gender, date of birth, place of residence, etc).

c)   Setting up a comprehensive database for creation of a National Identification System that will help us create a National Identity Register (NIR).

d)  The National Identity Card is slated to become the primary Identification document.

e)   Providing an integrated approach to transformation of government operations by creating a platform for e-Government.

 

In summary, Cabinet approved the Mass Enrolment Strategy with the following components:

1. The Project Roadmap (ANNEX 3)
2. The Multi-sectoral Governance Structure (ANNEX 4)
3. The Scope
4. The Budget

In additional while approving the roadmap, Cabinet considered interdependencies of other Government critical activity timelines like the National Housing and Population Census and the 2016 Electoral process. Furthermore, the strategy provided for making use of all existing Government structures for its implementation in order to make the most efficient use of available resources, both human and material.

1.4. Hon. Members, the implementation of a National Identification Register will yield numerous benefits to Government and the public since actions taken will then be based on reliable and verified data. It will enhance planning, the country’s security, reduction of crime, enhancement of financial and social development, good governance and enhance service delivery. As the House is aware, a National Identification Register is a prerequisite for implementation of e-Government initiatives. We therefore believe that we are on a correct path to transforming our country to a digitized one.

1.5. Hon Members, after Cabinet approved the Mass Enrolment Strategy, the National Implementation team embarked on the pre-enrolment activities which included

a)   Recruitment and training of all Project Staff from the National level down to the Parish level

b)  Setting up of National, Regional, District, Sub-county and Parish Administrative and IT Support structures.

c)   Deployment of staff to fill those structures

 

d)    Procurement of additional machinery and equipment, software and enrolment materials for mass enrolment.

e)    Publicity, Mobilisation and sensitization of the public to support and embrace the exercise. The mass enrolment strategy has been explained and we continue explaining it to various groups of people. We have explained it to the political, religious and cultural leaders; to many civil society organizations; and to the general public through cluster engagements, electronic and print media under the theme: My Country, My Identity. We have received overwhelming buy-ins from the citizens.

f)      Mobilisation of all necessary logistics e.g. vehicles to be used in the Mass Enrolment exercise.

g)    Preparation of the old set of equipment for upgrade and integration.

h)    Setting up of the project home and installation of machinery at Kololo.

i)      Setting up and operationalization of a solid regionalized structure to coordinate and supervise the project.

j)      Gazetting and establishing of Enrolment Centres across the county in accordance with the law (Section 36 of the Uganda Citizenship & Immigration Control Act Cap 66).

k)    Putting in place security mechanisms for the kits, other materials and project staff. Having security agencies directly participating in the exercise has helped.

1.6. Rt. Hon Speaker, on 13^th April, 2014 H.E. The President launched a country wide Mass Enrolment Exercise in line with the strategy approved by Government. Notable from His Speech, the President:

a)   Encouraged all Ugandans to register

b)  Emphasized the usefulness of the National ID i.e. Enhancement of security, provision of social services, facilitation of free movement of people within the East African Community region etc.

c)   Authentication of true identities of people.

d)  He emphasized facilitation of access to financial services.

 

2.0. ROLL OUT OF MASS REGISTRATION STRATEGY

2.1. Rt. Hon Speaker, the registration of persons is planned to be done in two phases. This is so given the varying mandates and demands of the participating institutions. Many of these institutions have to perform functions in line with set Constitutional timeframes which none of us want to breach.

a) In Phase one Hon Members, we are registering all citizens aged 16 years and above. This phase started on 14^th April, 2014. During this Phase, the overall objective is that all citizens who will be registered during this phase will be issued with National Identification Numbers and National Identity Cards. In addition, it will enable us to respond to the requirements of the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (National Housing and Population Census) and of the Electoral Commission. The cards will be used to prove citizenship during the 2016 general elections. A detailed roadmap of phase 1 is illustrated at ANNEX 3.

b) Phase two Hon Members, will be implemented starting July 2016, after the 2016 general elections. We will register all citizens aged zero (0) years and above, anybody who will have missed phase 1 registration and resident foreign nationals. Citizens will be issued with National Identification Numbers; and those aged 16 years and above will be issued with National Identity Cards. Resident foreign nationals will be issued with Alien Identity Cards. A detailed roadmap of phase 2 is illustrated in ANNEX 3.

Hon Members will note that on commencement of Phase One, this exercise met a number of challenges. These included:

i. Inadequate number of kits due to delays in deliveries of additional equipment and upgrades. However, a decision to begin with the few kits was taken. Along the way, more kits were received. I am glad to report that the project is on course. Starting with the few kits led to an incremental approach which helped us manage technological challenges that came up. Solutions to technological challenges were easier to implement with few kits and even easier to pass on to the bigger numbers when all were delivered.

1. Enrolment Officers had not gained enough experience with the kits.
2. Supervision and coordination structures were not solid.
3. The multi-sectoral approach to implementation had not taken root.
4. Hard to reach areas presented a big challenge to the exercise.
5. Stealing of kits. E.g. on the 15^th April 2014, a kit was stolen from Kole District.
6. Breakdown of kits
7. General disbursement of resources to field staff. For example L.C.Is countrywide threatened to lay down their tools because of issues related to their pay.

Hon Members, we immediately re-organised to deal with the above-mentioned challenges. I am glad to report that at the moment because of the following interventions the project is on course;

1. More kits were delivered and almost all the districts are now operating at the planned 100% kits distribution.
2. Enrolment officers have since gained proficiency and there are now less problems due to adequate operator knowledge.
3. We set up regional IT Support Centres and online real time technological response mechanisms to deal with all field IT related problems.
4. We introduced a daily performance tracking mechanism for all Enrolment Officers (EOs) which helps us to identify those officers that need refresher training.
5. We sensitized LCIs countrywide and published the allowance payment schedule for all staff involved in the exercise.

 

vi. We improved the coordination and supervision mechanism by dividing the country into more and smaller tactical and operational regional structures. We started with 9 regions but are now operating under 21 regions (ANNEX 5).

In addition, we created Regional, District, and Sub-county Committees with an in-built monitoring and evaluation mechanism that helps us manage this rather complex exercise as illustrated in the
For example, the District Coordination Committees are in touch with the exercise on a daily basis and hence the real time escalation and management of issues.              Where we had administrative challenges e.g. with Parish Chiefs, we enlisted Ministry of Local Government support to direct all Chief Administrative Officers to give the necessary support to the project.

vii. For the hard to reach areas, we set up a committee to map all hard to reach areas in the country and an additional facilitation was put in place to supplement activities of the hard to reach areas.

1. Security of the kits was managed by requiring all Enrolment Centres to be guarded by Police Officers and storage of kits to be done at Police Stations/Posts.
2. We have stuck together as one robust team committed to delivering this project under the guidance and stewardship of the Policy, Steering and Technical Committees.
3. We stepped up sensitization and mobilisation.

Rt. Hon Speaker, allow me illustrate in detail how the enrolment under this project is being implemented.

3.0. ENROLMENT IMPLEMENTATION

The scope of the project as approved by Cabinet stated that we expected to register an estimated 18 million people who are 16 years and above using 8000 enrolment kits. The enrolment is being done at Parish level (process illustrated in ANNEX 6) with at least 1 kit at each Enrolment Centre. All citizens are expected to register where they reside or where they are born because of the following:

1. Citizenship verification and proper identification
2. To comply with Electoral Commission’s requirement for registration of voters that registration takes place where they reside or where they are born.

In this regard, it is also important to note that all those who have registered will receive their identification cards from where they have registered.

Critical to identification is capturing of proper personal data, quality photograph and biometric fingerprints. However, challenges have been met in capturing fingerprints and facial images because of the high quality standard required by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Standards which we are strictly following.

 

This has been addressed by refresher training for Enrolment Officers to improve on operator capability and have sensitized the people turning up for registration to clean their hands before enrolling.

3.1. Enrolment of PWDs

We have come up with mechanisms of registering People with Disabilities and the Elderly. Where we are approached, we place mobile registration centres at their places of convenience. For example, we organised enrolment for the school of the blind in Soroti.

At the Enrolment Centres when a PWD appears for registration, our Enrolment Officers are under instruction to assist these people and give them priority for registration.

3.2. Enrolment Kits and Technology

1. Hon Members, the exercise kicked off with a small number of registration kits, 20% in the first week increasing to 68% by the ninth week. Since then, all procured kits and software have been received and delivered. The current kits distribution is as indicated in Figure 1 below.

 

Figure 1

Summary of Progressive Kits Distributions in Districts

Week	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	14
Average%      kits coverage	20%	20%	33%	44%	44%	44%	44%	44%	68%	97%

 

Note

3% of kits are kept at HQ for rapid response to emergencies.

1. In the course of mass registration, we sometimes experience equipment performance failure. The effect of this is two fold: –

a)   Enrolment does not take place until the equipment is repaired.

b)  The captured data is not transmitted to the centre at Kololo in

1. This results in some data remaining in districts.

 

Therefore the figures presented here are those that have been received at the Centre. When all captured data in the districts is received, the overall picture of how the project is performing will change for the better.

c) We also encountered challenges of deploying old kits (HP) procured way back in 2010 whose performance and capacity therefore are not as good as the new kits (Dell).

To ensure that we are always on top of the technical challenges;

– The Technology Team at the Centre has been beefed up to rapidly respond to technical problems that are reported. Their actions ensure that equipment failure is rapidly attended to and that captured data does not stay long at the district before being transmitted to the Centre.

– The Situation Room at the Centre is continuously in touch with the regions and districts.          They provide online technical solutions to problems that are reported.

– There has been and will continue to be training and retraining of Enrolment Officers and Supervisors and I.T Field support teams to ensure that the whole team is always up to the task.

– Deployment of old kits to places connected to the National Power grid because they require constant charging.

We have come up with a daily Performance Tracking mechanism where we receive daily enrolments on a particular kit and a particular enrolment officer. This enables us to track performance and ensure targeted assistance to enrolment officers who need help.

Further, we have allowed a level of flexibility at local level with regard to kits distribution. Where the District Enrolment Officer determines that deployment of more kits to an area out of those available will help, this is done. The result has been that some areas are almost through. In cases where registration is almost complete, the kits are being deployed to areas where there are populations waiting to be registered.

 

Hon Members, the mass enrolment process at Parish level is in progress. Despite the challenges experienced at the beginning of the exercise, our Enrolment Officers have gained proficiency in using the kits and the computer enrolment software. The average enrolment per kit is now standing at 40 persons per kit per day as compared to what we had planned, 25 persons per kit per day with high performers registering up to 85 persons per kit per day.

Rt. Hon Speaker, implementation of the above initiatives has improved project performance. Mass enrolment as at the end of the 15^th week stands at over 11.4 million persons (Please see table below. Detailed performance per District is given in the ANNEX 7). This does not include those registered but whose data has not reached the centre due to technical problems which problems are constantly being sorted out.

Rt. Hon. Speaker, based on performance of Week 13 (1,235,869), 14 (1,347,086), and 15 (1,263,045), we have now stabilised at that performance level and therefore expect similar performance in the remaining week 16 and 17. At the end of Week 17 (11^th August 2014 end of Mass Enrolment), we expect to have a total enrolment of 14 million people. This will leave us with a balance of 4.2 million to hit the overall estimated target of 18 million people.

Hon Members, if we are to continue at Parish level, we would require an additional 3.26 weeks to capture the remaining 4.2 million people. However, in accordance with the approved roadmap, we shall continue registration for six months at Sub-county level during which period the remaining population shall be registered.

Considerations shall be made for exceptional areas for field outreach to Parish level as the case may be in areas which will still have high populations unregistered.

 

Mass Enrolment Performance as at Week 15

 

S/N	REGIONS	Est. Population >= 16 years as of Feb 2014 (18 Million)	Expected Performance in 15 Weeks With100% Kits	Provisional Enrolments Reported in 15 Wks	% Performance Overall Target for 16 Wks	Remaining Population	Actual Kits Distibuted	Actual % Kits Distribution
1	ARUA	1,501,823	1,314,095	680,014	45%	821,809	464	97%
2	GULU	554,588	485,264	276,373	50%	278,215	186	90%
3	KITGUM	533,773	467,052	211,807	40%	321,966	217	92%
4	LIRA	1,037,468	907,785	605,764	58%	431,704	428	93%
5	SOROTI	1,062,751	929,907	545,251	51%	517,500	351	90%
6	MOROTO	623,786	545,813	244,937	39%	378,849	166	89%
7	MBALE	884,028	773,524	552,970	63%	331,058	441	93%
8	BUKEDI	883,156	772,761	548,140	62%	335,016	380	93%
9	JINJA	1,780,697	1,558,110	1,367,861	77%	412,836	774	100%
10	LUWERO	571,915	500,426	366,904	64%	205,011	246	92%
11	KAMPALA	1,186,114	1,037,850	817,314	69%	368,800	600	100%
12	WAKISO	915,631	801,177	704,353	77%	211,278	404	100%
13	MUKONO	723,503	633,066	511,655	71%	211,848	336	100%
14	MITYANA	583,903	510,915	299,807	51%	284,096	302	100%
15	MASAKA	883,374	772,952	625,862	71%	257,512	448	100%
16	MBARARA	1,043,898	913,411	648,585	62%	395,313	506	100%
17	BUSHENYI	464,245	406,215	333,569	72%	130,676	178	92%
18	KIGEZI	687,541	601,598	463,367	67%	224,174	344	100%
19	KABAROLE	1,253,680	1,096,970	811,528	65%	442,152	592	94%
20	HOIMA	1,057,629	925,426	784,563	74%	273,066	388	100%
		18,233,505	15,954,317	11,400,624	63%	6,832,881	7,550	97%

 

3.3. Emerging Issues

a)   Development of the enrolment software made use of names of Administrative Units given to us by the Electoral Commission. It has since emerged that a few errors were made in the naming and uploading of some Administrative Units names on the enrolment software. This matter was taken up with the Ministry of Local Government.

Naming of an Administrative Unit follows a legal authorized process. Where it has been found that the due process was not followed, the error has been rectified.

b)  A few people have suggested that due to the small number of kits used at the beginning, the deadline for registration at Parish Level should be extended.

It is true that registration of persons kicked off with a small number of kits. It is also true that the Enrolment Officers then did not have sufficient experience.

Since then, the situation has changed.

– We received and have deployed more kits (Figure 1).

– The Enrolment Officers are more proficient, enrolling a minimum of 33 persons per day per kit (the national average is 40) compared to the planned 25 persons per day per kit.

– We have intensified supervision and monitoring. The Technology Team is always ready to solve problems that crop up.

– Flexibility regarding kits distribution in an area has been allowed.

In light of all these initiatives, and the results we are receiving from the field, we believe it will not be necessary to extend the deadline for registration at Parish level. Already, there are areas where

 

registration is more or less complete. The few remaining will be able to register at Sub-county level. As planned, we intend to remain at Sub-county level up to February 2015 when the 2016 Electoral process will begin.

c)   A number of people have requested to be registered at their places of work. Similarly, those in the diaspora have requested to register at our missions abroad.

We are cognizant of the fact that one of the main objectives of the exercise is to come up with a National Citizenship Register that will be used for various purposes (service delivery, determination of true

identities of people, security etc).               This requires citizenship
verification which is best done where one resides or where one originally comes from, not at the place of work.

All citizens have therefore been encouraged to register where they reside or where they originally come from.

d)  People are complaining that there are no enrolment forms at registration centres, this may be true in some cases however, and our Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms have revealed that these forms are being hoarded by unscrupulous people who are selling them for personal financial gain.

The vice is prevalent mainly in Kampala, Wakiso and some border areas like Busia and Buliisa. In Busia, for example, a Somali bought a registration form, successfully registered and he was intercepted and arrested in Arua. Those who sold him the form have been taken to court.

e)   It has also come to our attention that in almost all districts of Uganda, prevalent of cult i.e. 666 and Enjiri sects whose religious beliefs do not support registration for issuance of National ID and Number. They believe that is Satanic and have therefore shunned the exercise.

 

We have on several occasions looked out for their leadership to persuade them and sensitize them about this exercise but some have still resisted registration. As Members are aware under the current National ID Regulations, “Any person who fails without reasonable excuse to apply for registration as a citizen or as the case may be to take reasonable steps or fails to apply for a National Identity Card, commits an offence and is liable to a fine or 3 months imprisonment or both.” We may revert to charging those who are not complying.

Hon Members, we are continuing to manage these emerging issues as they come.

In view of the above, we are very grateful to H.E The President, the Rt. Hon Prime Minister and all other leaders who have led by example by going to their respective places of origin to register. In same vein, I call upon all Hon Members who have not yet registered to go in their respective constituencies and register.

Hon Members, I wish to emphasize the fact that the current exercise is NOT a one-off. It is true that after February 2015, registration of those aged 16 years and above will stop to enable the 2016 Electoral process to go ahead. Registration of all persons (from age zero upwards) will resume after swearing in of the new Government in 2016. Those in the diaspora will therefore be able to register anytime they come home, either during the period between now and February 2015 or after the new Government is sworn in.

4.0. CITIZENSHIP ISSUES

Rt. Hon. Speaker, you are aware that National Identification numbers and National Identity Cards are to be issued to citizens of Uganda only. Identifying and verifying Uganda citizens is a big challenge. Identifying and verifying Uganda citizenship is not an easy yet all those we are enrolling must as of necessity be identified and verification of their Uganda citizenship claims must be made in accordance with the set criteria under the 1995 Constitution. In some districts, the citizenship challenge is more prominent than in others.

This task is quite complex given a number of reasons;

1. The Cross border communities; it is extremely difficult to identify those strictly belonging to Uganda and those of her neighbours. These include; the Pokot, Karimojong, Itesot, Bagisu, and Basamia along the Eastern border, in the south, we have the Haya, Banyarwanda and Twa, the western border has the Bakonjo, Bamba, Alur, and Lugbara, the northern border has the Madi, Lugbara, Kakwa, Kuku and Acholi.
2. The refugee problem and the lack of proper management of it since 1962. There is a general public outcry about the influx of Refugees for example who have settled in very easily. These have even acquired land and maybe occupying political and public offices.
3. We are working closely with the responsible office under the Office of the Prime Minister to compare the existing data base of refugees with our database to weed out refugees who may have applied for national identity cards. District that host refugee camps and transit points have been sensitized with a clear message sent out that refugees are ineligible to enroll during this mass enrolment exercise.
4. Many illegal immigrants from neighboring countries have also settled in Uganda overtime.

Hon. Members, with all the above in mind, we adopted a multi-prolonged Citizenship Verification strategy as illustrated below.

a) Parish Citizenship Verification Committee; these are composed of the Parish Chief/Elder, LC 1 Village Chairperson and the Parish Internal Security Officer. Their main role is to identify the citizen from the community where he/she resides and or is born and endorse their comments on the enrolment form. The applicant is then enrolled

 

by the enrolment officer and data sent to Kololo central processing system. However, we have reports of infiltration by foreigners and this is being associated to the PVC’s not doing what they were expected to do and in some cases, some of the members of this committee are alleged to be non Ugandans especially in border areas.

b)Central Citizenship Verification Team at Kololo; this has a team of experts who have been recruited from the general public and some are seconded to the project from Immigration Directorate, MOD, ISO, Police and Prisons Service to process enrolled data. During this process, biometric identification of applicants is done to ensure that there are no multiple registrations and citizenship approval is done. Those whose citizenship is queried, the system sends back a feedback report and further clarifications may be sought from that person.

c)  Sub-county Review Committee; this is composed of Immigration, Sub-county Chief, and GISO. This is where reviews of those whose citizenship is queried or in doubt are handled with a more detailed report from this committee to the centre in Kololo.

d)National Review Committee; this committee is constituted by the Minister of Internal Affairs and will handle cases that the sub-county committee totally rejects after their review.

The general guidance however is that citizenship verification shall be continuous. Where evidence becomes available that a person issued with a National ID is not a citizen, the law provides for the cancellation and revocation of the card. This remains a safeguard to the challenges presented by citizenship verification process and is the fall back provision.

4.1. Naturalization of Some Communities

Rt. Hon. Speaker, since the 14^th of April when we started implementation, we have come across various communities in various parts of the country

 

that openly acknowledge to have come from neighboring countries. These have since lived, and have generations born in Uganda. The cases in point are as follows;

Case Study: Malagori Community

This community is resident in Jeeja village, Kigumba sub-county in Kiryandongo district. It is alleged that they came to Uganda in 1956 on invitation of the Omukama Kabalega from Kenya and have since lived here with their families. They are estimated to be 5500 people. This community wanted to register directly but have been advised to use lawful methods only and this is through Naturalisation.

We have met this community twice and have sensitized them about the exercise, the laws on Uganda citizenship and have expressed willingness to apply to be naturalized under our laws. The Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control put in place modalities of fast tracking their applications for Naturalisation through Hoima Regional Immigration office after which, we shall register them and issue them with national identity cards.

Hon. Members, many other communities like the Alur Community in Panyamul, in West Nile qualify for this kind of citizenship and we encourage them to formalize their legal citizenship status before they get registered for ID purposes under this exercise.

4.2. Dual Citizenship

Hon. Members are aware that this country allows for dual citizenship. This is the simultaneous acquisition of two nationalities and one of which is Ugandan. However, there are regulations governing this status and those who want to be recognized as such must formerly apply to the National Citizenship and Immigration Board and if granted they are issued with a Certificate of Dual Citizenship.

 

Hon. Members, the challenge here is that there is a general feeling that since the law allows dual citizenship; one simply states that he/she is a dual national and some hold two passports illegally. This is illegal and for purposes of the National Identification Register, we strictly apply the legal requirement since there are offices of the state that holders of dual citizenship must not hold.

5.0. CHALLENGES

5.1. Hon. Members, implementing the exercise has not been without challenges. These are continuously being identified and solutions found to resolve them. Below are some of the challenges and actions we have taken to fix them:

Challenges		Action Taken
	Delay in acquisition of kits and upgrading of the old kits	Started with minimum number of kitscountrywide on 14/6/2014.    We are now at an average kits distribution of 97% in all districts.
	Partial   deliveries  to   districtsgreatly affected the budget	Plans are underway to deal with anticipated budget overruns
	Enrolment Officers trained in April may need refresher training due to a time lag of 2 months	Re-training strategies at regions anddistrict   level   in   place.     We   are continuously training and retraining.
	Politicizing the exercise; wrong perception that the enrolment is solely for electoral purposes	–        Intensified sensitization-        National, Regional and District structures     established      to handle.
Availability    of   reliable   power supply in districts		–          Procure more generators forDistricts   to   run   servers   at District Headquarters. –      Engaged the Ministry of Energy and          Mineral     Development to

 

		help us ensure more reliablepower    supply    to     District Headquarters.
	Malfunctioning of kits due to poor power supply	–        Set up mobile technical teamsto fix faults. –   Increased number of technical support staff.
	Cases of some administrative Units names missing in the enrolment system (some citizens had refused to register)	–        Working with MOLG to resolveAdministrative Units issues –   Sensitizing    affected   persons that the issue of names of administrative   units    will   be resolved later. –   Where MOLG has clarified, the software has been updated. –       The important point is that the exercise               is    about      registering persons         to         enhance democracy, good governance and service delivery.
	Extortion of money from the public by unscrupulous people	–        Sensitized the public-       Police   and   Intelligence   has been   instructed   to    be    on lookout.
	Some          Parish       VerificationCommittees      and     Enrolment Officers not being on duty for the planned 10 hours a day, 7 days a week	–       Stepped       up     supervisionthrough     Regional,     District Coordination Committees, Sub-county and Parish. –   Some have been dismissed and replaced.

 

5.2. Rt. Hon Speaker, the exercise has presented us not only with challenges but also opportunities. There are numerous opportunities we are reaping. These include among others:

1. The exercise has become popular and has the support of the political, cultural, religious leadership and the media
2. The emerging potential of the multi-sectoral approach to service delivery has been clearly demonstrated under this exercise
3. Pride and sense of ownership by Ugandans
4. Vigilance by most Ugandans and the security benefits coming along with the exercise.

The vigilance Rt. Hon Speaker and Members, has enabled us to apprehend and deal with wrongdoers e.g. those discouraging others from registering (cults), those extorting money from the public by selling registration forms and asking for money to be registered, those asking for money from the handicapped and the elderly (despite our instructions for these to be assisted free of charge by the Registration Officers and the Local Leadership), those attempting to steal our equipment etc.

Hon Members, I wish to make it clear that the ongoing registration at Parish level, which registration started on 14^th April 2014 will go on up to 11^th August 2014. After this, registration/enrolment centres will shift to Sub-counties. Registration of the 16+ who will have missed registration at Parish level will go on at Sub-County level up to 27^th February 2015 when all registration will stop in order not to interfere with the 2016 Electoral Process. It must however be noted that registration of births and deaths will go on all the time.

Hon. Members, we have adopted new Strategies to enable us complete the exercise;

a)   Re-deployment of enrolment kits from areas where the exercise has been completed like Mitooma, Buvuma, Nakapiripirit and Kayunga to areas where they still have big populations to capture.

b)  Adopting mobile registration centres to look for places with high numbers of unregistered people

c)   Use of LC’s registers to locate unregistered citizens.

d)  Starting continuous registration at Sub-county level immediately after 11^th August 2014. This will run up to February 2015. We believe that during this period, all the remaining Ugandans will be registered.

I wish to state Hon Members, that arrangements/structures are being put in place to ensure continuity of the registration of persons. In the event that one misses the Phase One and Phase Two registrations, he/she will still be registered using the structures being set up. NO one will be disfranchised. All citizens will be registered, either during Phase One, or in case they miss it, during the continuous registration process that will be

put in place at sub-county level after Phase One.                 The idea and
commitment is to always have an up-to-date register of persons in Uganda. The current exercise is therefore NOT a one-off. It is building a platform for setting up a live register of persons at all times. This will be achieved by the continuous registration of all births and deaths whenever they occur.

6.0. WAY FORWARD

Hon Members, in light of the above, Cabinet approved The Registration of Persons Bill 2014.

The Bill was printed and gazetted on the 18^th 2014, in the Uganda Gazette NO 41 vol CVII and will soon be introduced in Parliament for debate and enactment.

The object of this Bill is to harmonize and consolidate the law on registration of persons, to provide for registration of individuals, to

 

establish a national identification register, to establish a national identification and registration Authority, to provide for the issuance of National identification cards and aliens identification cards and other related matters.

7.0. CONCLUSION

In conclusion Hon Members, let me once again take this opportunity to thank you Hon Members and the entire public for fully embracing the exercise. People are enthusiastically presenting themselves for enrolment. The Hon Members’ public support of the exercise during the Regional sensitization meetings held at the beginning of the exercise, presenting them for registration, constant monitoring of the progress of this exercise has greatly helped. I call upon all of us to continue doing so.

Rt. Hon Speaker, we are aware that the exercise is complex; with a number of challenges. We are however, 100% certain that THAT WE SHALL RUN THE LAST MILE.

Rt. Hon. Speaker, I beg to move. Thank you.

 

ANNEX 1

The table below lists the participating and supporting institutions which participated in the development of the mass enrolment strategy and budget. They are also participating in the implementation of the project.

	Participating Institution	Roles
	Ministry of Internal Affairs	General Coordination and supervision
	Directorate of Citizenship &Immigration Control	Providing citizenship verification expertise
	Ministry of Information & National Guidance	Mass mobilisation and sensitisation
	Ministry of Information and Communication Technology	ICT Policy framework and guidance
	National Information Technology Authority	Project Quality IT Assurance
	Electoral Commission	Providing staff andinstitutional infrastructure
	Uganda Registration Services Bureau	Human resources and technical input in data collection
	Uganda Bureau of Statistics	Provides planningstatistics and enrolment analysis
	Ministry of Local Government	Supporting theadministration of the

 

		project at localgovernment level and the Administrative Units
	Uganda Police	Law and order, security of equipment and human resources.
	Uganda Prisons Service	Human resources
	Uganda People’s Defence Forces	Human resources and security
	Internal Security Organisation.	Security and Intelligence support

 

ANNEX 2

The table below indicates lessons learnt from benchmarking studies undertaken to inform the formulation of a Ugandan Mass Enrolment Strategy – a Country-wide Enrolment Model

Country	Observations	Lessons learnt
South Africa	  With a population ofapproximately 50million.   They registered 224,000 citizens from Oct, 13. They plan to issue citizens with identity cards in a period of 3-5 years.	  EffectiveCoordination and supervision were emphasised.
Ghana	  They had a region byregion mass enrolment exercise with registration centres as close to people as possible.   Enrolment was undertaken by the National Identification Authority. Support documents were key; if one didn’t have, a relative under oath had to identify him/her.	  Incorporated theapproach of centres close to people at Parish level.  We propose the creation of a similar Authority.  We implemented Parish verification Committees to identify citizens correctly.
UAE	  A single government entityis in place for identity provision and to serve multiple strategic objectives.   Government seeks to save	This is in line with our Multi-Sectoral strategy and the future of our National Identification System when fully established.

 

		billions spent through duplication and hope that these efforts will revolutionalise public services and support the creation of a digital economy.
Kenya		Their Election management overhaul failed due to technological problems.		Emphasised good planning, coordination and supervision.
		There was limited time for them to test the system which had been developed.		Good project management practices were recommended.
		Many poll workers were poorly trained to use the new technology.

 

ANNEX 3

Analysis of the Phase One roadmap:

1. Mass enrolment is planned to be done at all parishes in the country for a period of 4 month (April – August, 2014). Movement of kits within a parish is allowed; and the timetable for the movement is drawn by the parish supervisor in consultations with the Sub-county Supervisor.
2. Mass Enrolment at Parish level is planned to end on 11^thAugust 2014 to give way for the planned National Population Census activities to take place ; and continuous enrolment will continue from Sub-counties thereafter until 27^th February, 2015
3. Data processing will commence in August 2014; to allow start of card production.
4. Card issuance will begin in September 2014 at Sub-county level. A one month card issuance exercise at Parish level will be organized in March 2015.
5. Continuous updating of captured data (e.g. births, deaths, movements, etc) will continue at Sub-county level without time limit.
6. Raw data will be submitted to EC to prepare their voters register
7. Phase 1 of the exercise is planned to end April 2015.

 

Analysis of the Phase Two roadmap:

i. Phase Two will commence after completion of the 2016 General Elections Process.

 

1. Similar sequencing of activities performed in phase 1 will be implemented in phase 2
2. Phase 2 will end in July 2017
3. On completion of phase 2, a transition strategy from project to operations mode will be put in place to ensure registration continuity so as to always have an up-to-date register of persons. The register will be useful for purposes indicated above i.e. planning, identity authentication, security, provision of social services etc.

 

ANNEX 4

The mass enrolment strategy provisioned for the governance structure indicated below. It has been operationalized. Clear roles and responsibilities were defined.

Figure 1: Governance Structure

In 2 weeks of mass enrolment, it was established that there was a critical need to incorporate a coordination and supervision structure to complement the above governance structure.

The coordination and supervision structure below was set up and operationalized. Regional Coordination Committees (RCC) were personally inaugurated by the National Coordinator. District Coordination Committees (DCC) were inaugurated by RCC; while Subcounty committees were inaugurated by DCC. Roles and responsibilities of each committee were clearly stipulated. These committees have helped fixing all localized challenges and concerns.

 

ANNEX 5

ANNEX 6

Below is the process similar to that at an Enrolment Center.

The National Identity Card is going to change lives of Ugandans; life will never be the same in Uganda with the implementation of a National Identification System.

 

ANNEX 7

Detailed Performance per District

 

S/N	REGIONS	DISTRICTS	Est. Population >= 16 years as of Feb 2014 (18Million)	Expected Performance in 15 Weeks With100% Kits	Provisional Enrolments Reported in 15 Wks	%Performance                                                  Actual Overall                       Remaining                                     Kits Target for 16                     Distibuted Population Wks			Actual % KitsDistribution
1	Arua	KOBOKO	134,152	117,383	66,351	49%	67,801	50	100%
		MARACHA	108,542	94,974	78,263	72%	30,279	54	80%
		YUMBE	286,938	251,071	88,834	31%	198,104	56	100%
		MOYO	238,334	208,543	48,920	21%	189,414	28	100%
		NEBBI	183,846	160,865	115,074	63%	68,772	82	100%
		ZOMBO	116,279	101,744	62,896	54%	53,383	50	100%
		ARUA	433,732	379,515	219,676	51%	214,056	144	100%
1	Arua	SUB_TOTAL	1,501,823	1,314,095	680,014	45%	821,809	464	97%
2	Gulu	GULU	219,481	192,046	118,581	54%	100,900	96	100%
		AMURU	93,830	82,101	59,449	63%	34,381	40	80%
		NWOYA	33,020	28,893	20,384	62%	12,636	18	80%
		ADJUMANI	208,257	182,224	77,959	37%	130,298	32	100%
2	Gulu	SUB_TOTAL	554,588	485,264	276,373	50%	278,215	186	90%
3	Kitgum	KITGUM	136,658	119,576	60,799	44%	75,859	70	100%
		LAMWO	96,445	84,390	35,136	36%	61,309	29	80%
		PADER	132,081	115,571	57,836	44%	74,245	52	100%
		AGAGO	168,589	147,515	58,036	34%	110,553	66	100%
3	Kitgum	SUB_TOTAL	533,773	467,052	211,807	40%	321,966	217	92%
4	Lira	OTUKE	46,860	41,003	28,645	61%	18,215	50	80%

 

S/N	REGIONS	DISTRICTS	Est. Population >= 16 years as of Feb 2014 (18Million)	Expected Performance in 15 Weeks With100% Kits	Provisional Enrolments Reported in 15 Wks	%Performance                                                  Actual Overall                       Remaining                                     Kits Target for 16                     Distibuted Population Wks			Actual % KitsDistribution
		ALEBTONG	116,388	101,840	70,261	60%	46,127	20	100%
		OYAM	197,904	173,166	96,645	49%	101,259	72	100%
		LIRA	219,045	191,665	127,098	58%	91,947	96	100%
		KOLE	117,260	102,603	65,600	56%	51,660	42	100%
		APAC	179,486	157,051	103,320	58%	76,166	84	100%
		AMOLATAR	67,675	59,216	53,968	80%	13,707	32	80%
		DOKOLO	92,849	81,243	60,227	65%	32,622	32	80%
4	Lira	SUB_TOTAL	1,037,468	907,785	605,764	58%	431,704	428	93%
5	Soroti	BUKEDEA	98,298	86,011	67,063	68%	31,235	32	80%
		SOROTI	176,435	154,381	88,681	50%	87,754	66	100%
		KABERAMAIDO	102,112	89,348	67,677	66%	34,435	35	80%
		AMURIA	217,847	190,616	71,577	33%	146,270	50	100%
		KUMI	135,677	118,718	66,448	49%	69,229	52	100%
		NGORA	82,278	71,993	54,211	66%	28,067	32	80%
		SERERE	152,896	133,784	67,041	44%	85,855	52	100%
		KATAKWI	97,208	85,057	62,553	64%	34,655	32	80%
5	Soroti	SUB_TOTAL	1,062,751	929,907	545,251	51%	517,500	351	90%
6	MOROTO	NAKAPIRIPIRIT	89,471	78,287	48,689	54%	40,782	34	80%
		AMUDAT	64,188	56,164	27,765	43%	36,423	16	80%
		MOROTO	86,855	75,998	30,964	36%	55,891	30	100%
		NAPAK	118,677	103,842	24,185	20%	94,492	24	100%
		ABIM	33,020	28,893	26,599	81%	6,421	14	80%

 

S/N	REGIONS	DISTRICTS	Est. Population >= 16 years as of Feb 2014 (18Million)	Expected Performance in 15 Weeks With100% Kits	Provisional Enrolments Reported in 15 Wks	%Performance                                                  Actual Overall                       Remaining                                     Kits Target for 16                     Distibuted Population Wks			Actual % KitsDistribution
		KOTIDO	146,575	128,253	44,626	30%	101,949	24	100%
		KAABONG	85,000	74,375	42,109	50%	42,891	24	80%
6	MOROTO	SUB_TOTAL	623,786	545,813	244,937	39%	378,849	166	89%
7	MBALE	SIRONKO	126,959	111,089	97,626	77%	29,333	80	100%
		BULAMBULI	68,656	60,074	55,643	81%	13,013	54	80%
		KAPCHORWA	60,810	53,208	32,270	53%	28,540	21	80%
		KWEEN	53,399	46,724	28,990	54%	24,409	16	80%
		BUKWO	38,360	33,565	28,453	74%	9,907	32	100%
		MBALE	247,598	216,648	170,446	69%	77,152	132	100%
		BUDUDA	94,811	82,959	49,225	52%	45,586	36	100%
		MANAFWA	193,436	169,256	90,317	47%	103,119	70	100%
7	Mbale	SUB_TOTAL	884,028	773,524	552,970	63%	331,058	441	93%
8	Bukedi	PALLISA	178,724	156,383	115,819	65%	62,905	76	100%
		KIBUKU	89,689	78,478	55,743	62%	33,946	30	80%
		BUDAKA	89,253	78,096	63,337	71%	25,916	35	80%
		BUSIA	154,857	135,500	90,207	58%	64,650	70	100%
		TORORO	258,713	226,374	152,798	59%	105,915	120	100%
		BUTALEJA	111,920	97,930	70,236	63%	41,684	48	100%
8	Bukedi	SUB_TOTAL	883,156	772,761	548,140	62%	335,016	380	93%
9	JINJA	JINJA	272,226	238,198	210,920	77%	61,306	124	100%
		MAYUGE	227,001	198,626	183,477	81%	43,524	100	100%
		NAMUTUMBA	104,728	91,637	91,319	87%	13,409	50	100%

 

S/N	REGIONS	DISTRICTS	Est. Population >= 16 years as of Feb 2014 (18Million)	Expected Performance in 15 Weeks With100% Kits	Provisional Enrolments Reported in 15 Wks	%Performance                                                  Actual Overall                       Remaining                                     Kits Target for 16                     Distibuted Population Wks			Actual % KitsDistribution
		KAMULI	237,898	208,161	169,452	71%	68,446	104	100%
		LUUKA	121,183	106,035	91,655	76%	29,528	56	100%
		BUYENDE	129,684	113,473	97,764	75%	31,920	40	100%
		IGANGA	244,546	213,978	197,334	81%	47,212	112	100%
		KALIRO	108,651	95,069	86,728	80%	21,923	48	100%
		BUGIRI	212,507	185,943	149,735	70%	62,772	88	100%
		NAMAYINGO	122,273	106,989	89,477	73%	32,796	52	100%
9	JINJA	SUB_TOTAL	1,780,697	1,558,110	1,367,861	77%	412,836	774	100%
10	LUWERO	LUWERO	214,577	187,755	129,514	60%	85,063	102	100%
		NAKASONGOLA	79,118	69,228	49,616	63%	29,502	29	80%
		NAKASEKE	96,009	84,008	69,928	73%	26,081	37	80%
		KIBOGA	85,112	74,473	50,072	59%	35,040	36	100%
		KYANKWANZI	97,099	84,962	67,774	70%	29,325	42	100%
10	LUWERO	SUB_TOTAL	571,915	500,426	366,904	64%	205,011	246	92%
11	Kampala	KAMPALA CENTRAL	94,484	82,673	102,242	108%	-7,758	101	100%
		NAKAWA	289,009	252,883	187,696	65%	101,313	128	100%
		RUBAGA	301,759	264,040	171,229	57%	130,530	121	100%
		MAKINDYE	244,001	213,501	190,364	78%	53,637	129	100%
		KAWEMPE	256,861	224,753	165,783	65%	91,078	121	100%
11	Kampala	SUB_TOTAL	1,186,114	1,037,850	817,314	69%	368,800	600	100%
12	Wakiso	WAKISO I	809,596		229,835	77%	184,666	196	100%

 

S/N	REGIONS	DISTRICTS	Population >=16 years as of Feb 2014 (18 Million)	Expected Performance in15 Weeks With 100% Kits	Provisional Enrolments Reported in 15 Wks	%Performance                                                  Actual Overall                       Remaining                                     Kits Target for 16                     Distibuted Population Wks			Actual % KitsDistribution
		WAKISO II	–		395,095			162	100%
		MPIGI	106,035	92,781	79,423	75%	26,612	46	100%
12	Wakiso	SUB_TOTAL	915,631	801,177	704,353	77%	211,278	404	100%
13	Mukono	KAYUNGA	172,512	150,948	128,244	74%	44,268	82	100%
		MUKONO	288,682	252,597	189,390	66%	99,292	126	100%
		BUIKWE	223,731	195,765	154,606	69%	69,125	98	100%
		BUVUMA	38,578	33,756	39,415	102%	-837	30	100%
13	Mukono	SUB_TOTAL	723,503	633,066	511,655	71%	211,848	336	100%
14	Mityana	MITYANA	155,075	135,691	85,053	55%	70,022	96	100%
		MUBENDE	312,984	273,861	121,335	39%	191,649	144	100%
		BUTAMBALA	43,373	37,952	42,858	99%	515	30	100%
		GOMBA	72,470	63,411	50,561	70%	21,909	32	100%
14	Mityana	SUB_TOTAL	583,903	510,915	299,807	51%	284,096	302	100%
15	MASAKA	KALUNGU	84,458	73,901	66,636	79%	17,822	36	100%
		SSEMBABULE	113,010	98,884	91,762	81%	21,248	70	100%
		BUKOMANSIMBI	72,252	63,221	53,043	73%	19,209	30	100%
		MASAKA	134,914	118,050	118,766	88%	16,148	92	100%
		KALANGALA	56,450	49,394	31,706	56%	24,744	24	100%
		RAKAI	246,508	215,694	179,032	73%	67,476	122	100%
		LYANTONDE	43,591	38,142	34,364	79%	9,227	18	100%
		LWENGO	132,190	115,666	50,553	38%	81,637	56	100%

 

S/N	REGIONS	DISTRICTS	Est. Population >= 16 years as of Feb 2014 (18Million)	Expected Performance in 15 Weeks With100% Kits	Provisional Enrolments Reported in 15 Wks	%Performance                                                  Actual Overall                       Remaining                                     Kits Target for 16                     Distibuted Population Wks			Actual % KitsDistribution
15	MASAKA	SUB_TOTAL	883,374	772,952	625,862	71%	257,512	448	100%
16	MBARARA	KIRUHURA	170,223	148,945	116,348	68%	53,875	74	100%
		IBANDA	137,530	120,339	83,227	61%	54,303	60	100%
		MBARARA	254,245	222,465	177,793	70%	76,452	126	100%
		ISINGIRO	225,257	197,100	128,174	57%	97,083	126	100%
		NTUNGAMO	256,643	224,562	143,043	56%	113,600	120	100%
16	MBARARA	SUB_TOTAL	1,043,898	913,411	648,585	62%	395,313	506	100%
17	BUSHENYI	BUSHENYI	132,408	115,857	77,359	58%	55,049	54	100%
		SHEEMA	117,042	102,412	76,370	65%	40,672	34	80%
		BUHWEJU	50,675	44,340	37,371	74%	13,304	24	100%
		RUBIRIZI	65,387	57,213	51,180	78%	14,207	24	80%
		MITOOMA	98,734	86,392	91,289	92%	7,445	42	100%
17	BUSHENYI	SUB_TOTAL	464,245	406,215	333,569	72%	130,676	178	92%
18	KIGEZI	RUKUNGIRI	166,627	145,799	100,243	60%	66,384	80	100%
		KANUNGU	133,171	116,524	110,337	83%	22,834	62	100%
		KABALE	262,636	229,807	164,240	63%	98,396	128	100%
		KISORO	125,106	109,468	88,547	71%	36,559	74	100%
18	KIGEZI	SUB_TOTAL	687,541	601,598	463,367	67%	224,174	344	100%
19	KABAROLE	KYENJOJO	194,852	170,496	104,753	54%	90,099	86	100%
		KASESE	394,391	345,092	238,289	60%	156,102	172	100%
		KABAROLE	220,026	192,523	179,709	82%	40,317	126	100%
		KAMWENGE	174,582	152,760	107,575	62%	67,007	102	100%

 

S/N	REGIONS	DISTRICTS	Est. Population >= 16 years as of Feb 2014 (18Million)	Expected Performance in 15 Weeks With100% Kits	Provisional Enrolments Reported in 15 Wks	%Performance                  Actual Overall                     RemainingKits Target for 16            Distibuted Population Wks			Actual % KitsDistribution
		KYEGEGWA	81,297	71,135	55,820	69%	25,477	27	80%
		NTOROKO	46,098	40,335	30,357	66%	15,741	21	80%
		BUNDUBUGYO	142,434	124,630	95,025	67%	47,409	58	100%
19	KABAROLE	SUB_TOTAL	1,253,680	1,096,970	811,528	65%	442,152	592	94%
20	HOIMA	HOIMA	300,561	262,991	167,573	56%	132,988	108	100%
		KIBALE	346,767	303,421	193,085	56%	153,682	130	100%
		KIRYANDONGO	167,063	146,180	141,755	85%	25,308	50	100%
		MASINDI	199,865	174,882	215,578	108%	-15,713	78	100%
		BULIISA	43,373	37,952	66,572	153%	-23,199	22	100%
20	HOIMA	SUB_TOTAL	1,057,629	925,426	784,563	74%	273,066	388	100%
							–
		TOTAL	18,233,505	15,954,317	11,400,624	63%	6,832,881	7,550	97%