Concern over shambolic distribution of IDs

People in Dowa have condemned the chaotic distribution of national identity cards by Dowa District Council.

Dowa District Education’s Management Information Systems Officer (MIS), Amigo Wizman expressed doubts as to whether the staff sent in the centres of the district to distribute the National Identity cards were competent enough to handle such a big task.

Wizman said the staff seemingly did not know their job as evidenced by the scrambling for the IDs in the centres of the district.

Speaking in an interview with Malawi24, Wizman asked the Dowa District Council to send competent people to handle such activities to avoid similar occurrences in the future.

“Proper training of the staff for any activity like the distribution of the national IDs need not to be underrated hence the council should send competent staff to perform better,” Wizman said.

In response, Acting Director of Planning and Development for the Dowa District Council Martin Pindamkono said 80,000 national identity cards for people of Dowa were withheld because some people registered in centres which are away from their own closest centres in their villages.

Pindamkono said the NRB withheld the National IDs to screen the IDs hence the residents will receive the national IDs after that process.

He asked those whose names went missing in the National identity cards exercise not to lose hope but have confidence that they registered and their IDs would come to them once all the processes of screening have ended.

The DPD dismissed fears that the 80,000 National Identity cards withheld by the NRB are as a result of the district hosting refugees and asylum seekers at the Dzaleka Refugees camp.

However, Pindamkono, noted that there are variations of the national ID’s dates of expiry, some 2021, others 2022 or 2028 etc but all registered at one centre and on the same day.

“The issue of the expiry dates of the national IDs is beyond the district level but the headquarters hence the council is ensuring that all the registered people if the district have received their national identity cards,” he said.