THE National Identification Authority (NIDA) has announced impending deactivation of 634,124 identification numbers, effective May 1st on individuals who have not yet collected their national identity cards.

James Kaji, the NIDA director general, told journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday that this action stems from having a large number of uncollected cards, where out of 1.2m printed ID cards, 565,876 individuals (around 30 percent) collected the cards.

Deactivation will underscore the importance of prompt collection, he stated, noting that despite lifting previous conditions and deadlines, those with outstanding cards have still not come forward.

Kaji suggested that the slow response might be due to individuals believing they could use their ID numbers without possessing the physical cards, thus seeing no urgency to collect them.

"I would like to inform the public that effective May 1 all those who did not take their NIDA cards will have their numbers deactivated until they respond," he specified, pointing at government investment in printing the cards and efforts made to inform the public, including sending SMS messages.

Anyone whose number is deactivated will be unable to use it for any purpose until they collect their physical ID card, he said, hinting at preparations for identification of those below 18 years old.

This initiative aims to facilitate availability of a ‘social number’ now applying to foreigners residing in the country for six months or more to those with residential permits.

The registration process for those under 18 will commence as a pilot project in three districts, namely South-South in Unguja, Kilolo in Iringa, and Rungwe in Mbeya, with 235,826 individuals expected to be registered in the districts across two months.

He also reported progress in connecting NIDA's information-sharing system to other institutions, as so far 128 institutions (57 public and 71 private) are connected.

There is greater interest among institutions to integrate their systems with national identification, with 16 institutions completing all procedures and connected in the pilot phase.

Up to April 12 NIDA had received 56 applications from institutions seeking connection, with this number expected to reach 200 by December, he added.