Africa-Press – Gambia. Following mounting concerns expressed by Gambians over the transparency of the deployment of a mobile ID Card enrollment service to Gambians in Mauritania, the Gambia Immigration Department (GID) yesterday issued a statement assuring the nation that the process will be conducted through rigorous screening and proper identification of all eligible Gambian citizens abroad.
When news about the deployment broke, many Gambians took to social media questioning the motive of such an operation in Mauritania and other neighbouring countries.
Madi Jobarteh, a rights activist said there is need for transparency because ID cards are issued at home.
“That’s the practice everywhere because ID cards are required only within a country’s borders. It is passports that are issued at home and abroad because citizens need to travel across borders and they do not have to come home to get a passport. Voters card or registration for election is also done at foreign missions for citizens abroad to be able to vote.
All other national documents, ID cards, drivers license, birth certificate or TIN certificate – are locally issued,” Madi said.
He added that it is therefore concerning that the Immigration Department is going to Mauritania to issue national ID cards.
“What about Senegal, Nigeria, China, UK, Brazil, US or Sweden and the rest of the world? What’s special about Mauritania?” he asked.
Many others alleged the exercise can be subject to abuse and a cover to provide non-Gambians with documents to access voter’s card. The Gambian opposition parties, investigative journalists and civil society should take interest in this exercise and monitor it since ID card holders can access voters card,” a Gambian commented on social media.
A video circulating online raised concerns relating to legal issues and the broader implications of the deployment.
Reacting to all these, the GID said a the deployment to Mauritania is a pioneering initiative by the government of the Gambia to safeguard the rights, lives, and livelihoods of Gambians residing abroad, particularly those grappling with severe identification challenges and the risk of harassment by foreign authorities.
“Following widespread media reports on the precarious status of Gambian residents in Mauritania and the subsequent dispatch of a Special Envoy Dr Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the government found it imperative to take practical steps to protect the interests of its citizens. As such, a mobile ID card enrollment team, led by Chief Superintendent Momodou Jallow, Officer-in-Charge of the National Identity Card Unit, with over a decade of expertise in identity management—was deployed to Mauritania to accurately identify Gambians through lawful procedures and facilitate the issuance of their National Identity Cards,” the GID said.
It said the delegation also included officials from the State Intelligence Services (SIS), the ministries of interior and foreign affairs, ‘ensuring a holistic and coordinated government approach to the mission’.
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