Tuesday July 7, 2020
MOGADISHU (HOL) - Prime Minister Hassan Khaire has tapped an intelligence officer Mukhtar Hussein Mohamed to head the newly revived registration of persons bureau.
A statement from the PM’s office noted Mohamed will serve as the first director general of the National Identification Authority.
“I have appointed Mr. Mukhtar Hussein Mohamed as the managing director for the National ID Authority project and to establish the agency in collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Interior and Federal Affairs,” The PM tweeted.
Prior to his appointment, Mukhtar served as an intelligence officer at the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA).The National ID Authority is expected to spearhead the registration of persons as Somalia seeks to build a new database of citizens.
The agency will also be tasked with the issuance of national IDs and support the electoral body in registration of persons.
Somalia signed a pact with Pakistan in 2018 worth $10.5 million for technical assistance on development of systems to enable the registration of persons and issuance of IDs.
Currently the ministry of interior and respective federal member states issue IDs on small scale but are not based on sufficiently verifiable data.