Unclaimed IDs law in offing

DAR ES SALAAM: PRIME Minister Dr Mwigulu Nchemba has directed the National Identification Authority (NIDA) to prepare a legally backed mechanism including penalties for people who fail to pick up their processed national identity cards, as over two million documents lie abandoned in government offices.

Speaking during the International Identity Day yesterday, Dr Nchemba stated that the government cannot continue absorbing the financial burden of printing high-cost identity cards that remain abandoned by their holders.

He said national identity cards are more than just official documents, describing them as critical national infrastructure that enables citizens to access banking, employment, SIM card registration and other government services while strengthening national security, planning and identity verification.

“Find a mechanism to remind every person registered once their cards are ready, you should also consider including possible penalties and then put it into law,” he said.

According to NIDA, 2,027,103 national identity cards remain at its offices out of 21,526,635 cards produced. The authority has registered 27,520,835 people and issued 23,515,667 National Identification Numbers (NINs).

Dr Nchemba urged all citizens whose cards are ready to collect them, saying the government has invested heavily in the national identification programme and expects the documents to be put to use.

He also called on eligible citizens who have not yet registered with NIDA to do so, saying the government wants every Tanzanian to be included in the national identification system.

The Prime Minister further directed NIDA to deepen integration with institutions responsible for employment, social services and economic activities to strengthen identity verification and curb fraud and misuse of identification information.

“All institutions dealing with important services should join the system so that we can be certain that this data and information can be crosschecked,” he said.

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He said the government has continued investing in the authority, allocating more than 132bn/- in the 2026/27 financial year for development projects, including the construction of 31 registration offices, a headquarters building and an Information and Communication Technology service centre.

Home Affairs Minister, Mr Patrobas Katambi, said the government has strengthened NIDA by expanding its offices, increasing staff and providing modern equipment to improve service delivery.

He said the authority now operates 156 offices across all districts and has received more than 200 vehicles to support registration services.

“NIDA has introduced more secure national identity cards and modern identification systems, while preparations are underway to register children so that every Tanzanian has a National Identification Number,” Mr Katambi said.

NIDA Director General, Mr James Kaji appealed to the government to officially recognise and commemorate the day as a national day to raise public awareness about the importance of legal identity.

He said this year’s celebrations, held under the theme “My Identity, My Shadow,” “Identity is not just a card; it is part of every citizen’s life.

Like a shadow that cannot be separated from a person, identity follows an individual through different stages of life, enabling them to be officially recognised and access their rights and opportunities,” Mr Kaji said.

Mr Kaji said the International Identity Day was launched on September 1 this year, and had included public awareness activities, registration and distribution of national identity cards at NIDA offices across Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar.

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