LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The country’s National Registration Bureau (NRB) warned Malawians against failure to renew their national identification cards that will face bad side of the law.
The warning comes as over 3 million National IDs that were issued in 2016 expire in 2021.
The bureau says people affected are supposed to effect a request for a new National ID thirty days before the start of 2021.
NRB spokesperson Norman Fulatira warned that people who will be found using invalid identities will face unspecified penalties.
As part of the renewal process, the public will be required to pay a prescribed fee of MK2, 500.00 at the Treasury Cashier.
“People will also have to present themselves before the Registration Officer to update biometric data. The standard waiting period for issuance of the renewed card is 30 days,” says Fulatira.
The registration exercise came for the first time after 50 years since Malawi’s independence and national identity cards (IDs) were distributed to 9 million people.
The Government of Malawi resolved to introduce the National Registration and Identification System (NRIS) to address problems associated with lack of universal and compulsory registration.
This was done through the registration of births, adults, marriages, resident foreigners and deaths.
This has been devolved to all the district councils in the country.
The District Registration Offices in the office of the District Commissioner perform the function through the decentralized structures at district level.
National IDs are currently mandatory when accessing bank services, and other government agencies including immigration, road traffic among others.
