Tanzanian govt underlines importance of new digital ID system in the offing

A new digital ID system dubbed the “Unique Number ID” will soon be rolled out in Tanzania and the government is already explaining to citizens how useful the ID will be in having access to vital public and private sector services.

The system being planned will be different from the current machine-readable cards issued by the National Identification Authority (NIDA), reports The Citizen Tanzania.

The outlet quotes the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Communications and Information Technology Mohamed Khamis Abdulla as explaining that the new ID system will be a unique number issued to citizens for life.

The official, a former staff of NIDA, was speaking just before a government meeting convened to discusses issues around the introduction of the digital ID system, which he referred to as “Jamii Namba.” “Jamii” is Swahili for “society.”

The idea of the “Unique Number ID,” the Permanent Secretary says, is to change the current state of things in the country where many different IDs are issued for different uses.

With the system, a person’s profile will have more details than in the current ID, and users will have access to a plethora of digital government and private sector services using just the unique number, he says. There will also be no need for holding a physical card.

“We have come to a point where we need only one identifier. We have too many IDs by different bodies,” Abdulla said as quoted by The Citizen. The official also disclosed that the new ID system will entail revising NIDA’s legislation, which could trigger changes such as bringing the legal age of obtaining an ID in Tanzania down from the current 18.

Other officials in different government departments have also praised the decision to introduce the digital ID saying it will be a great step forward especially as the Eastern African nation of about 63 million citizens is embarking on a digital transformation journey.

The Citizen also reported in May that Parliament held consultations with officials of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with regards to the new unique ID plan.

While the new ID system is awaited, NIDA is in the meantime taking measures to facilitate issuance of cards of the current regime. Early this year, it set up an online platform to enable applications for the digital IDs.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital identity  |  identity document  |  national ID  |  Tanzania