Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, the Internal Affairs Minister has said e-passports and national Identity cards will boost Uganda’s fight against terrorism.
Speaking in Gulu during the launch of national ID cards’ issuance recently, Gen. Aronda noted that, “Currently, it is very difficult to track individuals who possess Ugandan passports and have links with terrorism organizations.”
He said once the country starts to issue e-passports, the database will be used by security agencies to keep close watch over wrong elements that plan to destabilize the security of the country.
The Minister also noted that in the future, police will be able to sort out potential criminals with the available bio-data.
He revealed that the e-passport will be issued to Ugandans before the end of this year.
On national IDs, Gen Aronda said it will save the government billions of shillings which are used annually to provide social services to the citizens.
According to Gen Nyakairima, “Foreign nationals are accessing services such as health and education for free and these is putting the burden on the national budget.”
The e-passport scheme was set to begin in January and will cost at least Shs27.4 billion (around US$10.2 million).
Apart from the passports conforming to the international standards, they will also be fraud proof.
He asserted that criminals come to Uganda using aliases and forged documents but that the e-passport, or electronic passport, contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the holder’s identity.
“It uses smart card technology, including a microprocessor chip and antenna embedded within the passport itself,” He said.
In June of last year, the five East African Community (EAC) member states agreed to begin issuing a common biometric passport.
The EAC group includes Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda but until now, only Burundi has issued its citizens with e-passports.
