Africa-Press – Tanzania. THE government plans to introduce a draft for the Child Registration Act in the upcoming Parliamentary session, aimed at empowering the National Identification Authority (NIDA) to register children from birth.
NIDA Director General Mr James Kija revealed this recently while speaking at the 28th meeting of the NIDA Staff Council held at the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School in Kibaha Municipal, Coast Region.
He said infant registration will enable a child to be identified right after birth, thereby eliminating challenges that arise during adult registration.
“This measure aims at establishing strong foundations for early identification of citizens, facilitating access to social services and improving national defence and security systems,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Mr Kija urged 309,603 individuals nationwide whose identification cards are ready to collect them from district offices without further delay.
“The government has spent a lot of money producing these IDs. Delays in collection cause losses to the government and prevent individuals from accessing essential services,” he said.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs Mr Ally Gugu reminded NIDA officials to uphold ethics and guidelines for greater efficiency.
“In your daily duties, remember you hold a very sensitive role in national development. You must demonstrate integrity, ethics and loyalty to other institutions and the nation as a whole,” he stressed.
