THE National Identification Authority (NIDA) needs to operate 24 hours a day to ensure the timely distribution of 800,000 identification cards expected all over the country and not yet delivered to their rightful owners.

Innocent Bashungwa, the Home Affairs minister, issued this directive yesterday when speaking to members of the Tanzania Editors' Forum (TEF) in Dar es Salaam yesterday, highlighting that NIDA has already distributed 400,000 identification cards in the two months he has been in office.

The cards were previously held at the authority’s offices, he said, insisting that NIDA IDs are crucial for citizens to access essential services, and it is imperative that these cards are distributed promptly. 

“We have made significant progress in ensuring that these IDs reach the beneficiaries on time,” he said, expressing satisfaction over the leadership replacement there, after the president appointed a new director at NIDA.

Efforts are underway to address existing challenges, he said, remarking that distributing 400,000 Ids out of the 1.2m identity pieces that were previously uncollected was the first major step.

Addressing the issue of 31,000 IDs that were erased due to technical errors, he assured the public that those affected would be issued new IDs free of charge. 

“We have resolved the issue that led to the erasure of these IDs, and the citizens who were affected will receive replacements without any cost to them,” he stated.

He stressed clear and timely communication from the ministry to prevent confusion and panic among sections of the public, hinting at organizing a meeting with media practitioners to discuss strategies for effective information dissemination.

 As part of the portfolio’s broader efforts, the minister sketched implementation of key strategies across various departments, including Prison Services, the Fire and Rescue Force, Immigration, and the Police Force. 

Following the launch of these strategies on January 9, departmental executuves met to map out their effective execution, he said, noting that one key point of the new strategies is a campaign to encourage the community to accept former prisoners who have been pardoned.

“These individuals have undergone rehabilitation and are now ready to reintegrate into society as productive citizens,” the minister intoned.