By Alpha Amadu Jalloh
Mr. President, as I promised, I am back to continue our conversation. I trust you had a peaceful weekend and have had time to reflect on the issues we last discussed. Today, I would like to focus on a matter critical to our nation’s future: the National Registration Office, which oversees the provision of National Identity Cards to Sierra Leoneans. But before we delve deeper into that, I must ask: has your government considered how effectively we are registering babies at birth?
Mr. President, the registration of every Sierra Leonean from the moment they are born is fundamental. Yet, in many of our remote communities, health services are almost nonexistent. How can we expect that every child born in these areas has been properly documented? What mechanisms are in place to ensure that every Sierra Leonean has a birth certificate to verify their identity?
If you were to visit the birth and death registries in our country, you would find an overwhelming chaos of paper files. These offices, which should be the custodians of our national identity, have become graveyards of forgotten documents. Meanwhile, other nations are boasting about their digitized birth certificates with efficient and secure records. In Sierra Leone, we are still wading through mountains of disorganized paperwork. Why haven’t we started computerizing these records like the rest of the world?
When we talk about national registration, issuing passports, or conducting a national census, the foundation of all these processes should be a comprehensive, secure, and up-to-date database of births and deaths. This should be our starting point—a clear and reliable record of who is a citizen.
Now, Mr. President, I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m bringing this to your attention. The answer is simple: I want to address the inequities Sierra Leoneans face when trying to obtain a National Identity Card. According to your government, no one will be able to conduct business or engage in any formal activities without presenting this card. Yet, the very workers tasked with issuing these cards have become the main obstacle to citizens getting them.
Currently, ordinary Sierra Leoneans are unable to access basic services because they cannot provide their National Identity Card. What should be a straightforward process, taking an hour or so, now stretches into weeks or even months. People are forced to pay extra, endure unnecessary delays, and navigate bureaucratic hurdles just to complete the required forms and have their photographs taken.
Mr. President, what’s worse, these institutions, whether it’s the National Registration Office or the Department of Immigration, have become marketplaces. People who can afford to pay bribes receive faster services, while others are left to struggle. Foreigners, it seems, have an easier time getting Sierra Leonean passports than our own citizens. It is a known fact that non-Sierra Leoneans, including drug dealers and certain Chinese nationals, carry Sierra Leonean passports. How did we arrive at this point, where our nation’s most sacred documents are being sold to the highest bidder?
Why, Mr. President, are you allowing this blatant abuse of our birth certificates, National ID cards, and passports? Real Sierra Leoneans are being denied access to these essential documents because of corrupt practices within the very offices you entrusted to serve the people. These practices are undermining our national security, our sovereignty, and the trust that citizens have in your government.
If you truly care about protecting Sierra Leone’s future, you must take immediate action. You must institute laws that ensure every child born in Sierra Leone, or of Sierra Leonean descent, is properly documented from birth. Our registration processes need to be revamped. National Identity Registration Offices must be established in every region, with multiple locations across major cities like Freetown and others in the provinces. This will ease the burden on citizens, many of whom travel great distances just to get an identity card. After spending weeks or sometimes months without success, many simply give up.
The cost of these services must also be addressed. Citizens cannot afford to repeatedly travel to and from the registration offices, pay exorbitant fees, and wait indefinitely for their documents. There must be a clear timeline for processing passports, national identity cards, and birth certificates. If other countries can issue passports and ID cards within 10 days, so can we. We need efficiency, transparency, and, above all, fairness.
Mr. President, I realize that some of these issues may be new to you. But as I said when we began these discussions, I intend to raise concerns that may not have come to your attention. The process of securing our nation starts with securing the identity of our citizens. If we fail to do that, we fail as a nation.
I urge you, Mr President, to reflect on this. Your leadership in this area will determine whether we build a strong, secure future for Sierra Leoneans or whether we continue down a path of uncertainty and corruption. Thank you for your time, Mr. President. As always, I look forward to continuing our dialogue.
Have a wonderful week ahead, and let’s continue to work toward a better Sierra Leone for all of us.
