NIRA Goes Digital: But Is Uganda Ready?
So, Uganda is going digital. Again. This time, it’s NIRA, the gatekeepers of your National ID—the single piece of plastic that determines if you can open a bank account, get a SIM card, or, God forbid, renew your passport without giving up your sanity in a queue at Kololo. And by “queue,” I mean a real Ugandan queue: the one that starts at 5 AM with people clutching plastic chairs, a guy hawking photocopies at triple the price, and an entire crowd praying the system doesn’t go down before lunch. Now, NIRA says you can apply online. Because if there’s one thing we know about Uganda’s internet speeds, server downtimes, and data costs, it’s that surely, this will go smoothly. To be fair, digitizing ID processes could be a game changer in a country where getting your National ID currently feels like a side quest you didn’t sign up for. No more overnight vigils outside NIRA offices with your documents under your pillow. No more “come back next month” slips that feel like an endless lo...