Mr. Mohamed Mubashir MASSAQUOI, Director General National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA) is currently representing Sierra Leone at an Annual General meeting (AGM) held in Marrakesh, Morocco on the Theme; Identity in Context: The Digital Transformation Journey Begins.
This year’s AGM attracted delegation from Sierra Leone drown from institutions such as National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA), National Revenue Authority(NRA), Bank of Sierra Leone(BSL), Immigration Department etc. and is headed by the Director General, NCRA – Mohamed Mubashir MASSAQUOI who doubles as the ID4AFRICA Ambassador for Sierra Leone to discuss Legal Identity Matters to promote financial inclusion, reduce poverty, combat criminalities of human trafficking, money laundering among other nefarious crimes, as well as promote reliable data for health planning, development, electioneering, social protection and national security. The meeting is scheduled from the 15th to 17th June 2022.
This event brings together leading biometric vendors, the international development and digital ID Communities, Governments from across Africa and around the world, Private Sector, International Non-profit Organizations including Donors, Development Partners, Civil Society Organizations (CSO’s) etc. to discuss Identity for All Issues in Africa which falls among Africa’s top priorities around Identity for development and humanitarian efforts. Amongst others, the event will discuss; Accelerating Government Service Delivery with Digital Identity Trust for Identity Products and Services through technology to accelerate human impact etc. The ultimate goal of this effort is to make countries Meet the (UN SDG 16.9) Legal Identity for All by 2030.
Additionally, this effort will help countries show their population and the world that Legal Identity is high on the National Priority List. This is already a case for Sierra Leone to show the gains we have made since the declaration made by HE Dr. Julius Maada Bio during the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly in 2019, with his indefatigable commitment to support Civil Registration Vital Statistics (CRVS) and Legal Identity in Sierra Leone, a commitment that is highly appreciated within the Identity System in Africa.
The event also urges countries to declare/proclaim 16th September as Identity Day, a Day Sierra Leone commemorates every year for which Institutions associated with Legal Identity are urging Government to proclaim and promote 16th September as National ID Day in Sierra Leone.
Whilst other countries lag behind in terms of registration coverage with 50 to 60%, Sierra Leone is among the few countries in Africa with the highest registration coverage with over 85% of the population registered and are all assigned the NCRA’s MAGIC NUMBER called National Identification Number (NIN).
The NIN is linked to different services in Sierra Leone which is helping to boost the country’s Digital Economy and National growth through precise data on our population.
On Day 2, the NCRA’s Director General Mr. Mohamed Mubashir MASSAQUOI will be on a Panel of International Experts to share ideas and experiences on how countries can attain 100% Legal Identity coverage by 2030.
This is a great opportunity to have Sierra Leone featured on a high end global event. This is all made possible through the rapid transformation the NCRA has seen under the leadership of the Director General, with unending support from the Management and entire staff of the Authority and Partners.
“I am speechless, I must confess, after comparing and discussing the progress made so far by NCRA Sierra Leone with other countries, Sierra Leone is far ahead” says Senior ICT Officer, NCRA Moses Vibbie who is on the delegation paying unwavering attention in comparing other countries scenarios with that of Sierra Leone in the context of challenges and progresses made by countries.
DG MASSAQUOI announced at the forum with pride the unqualified support from H.E President Julius Maada Bio and his Government, for all CRVS and ID Management Programmes, a support that records our country as a lead country in Africa that integrates CRVS and ID functions within our legal identity framework.
DG/Ambassador will as usual use his Diplomatic finesse to forge alliances and networks towards mobilizing resources for Sierra Leone’s CRVS and Legal Identity programmes.
This is just the beginning, watch out for more coming on this live from Marrakech, Morocco.
Civil Registration is a Right and a Must, Leave no one behind.
