|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 5 September 2004 |
 |
|
 |
News |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Primitive technology hampers issuing NICs by Jayantha Sri Nissanka Commissioner of the Department of Registration of Persons P.B. Abeykoon has been given a difficult task of issuing National Identity Cards (NICs) to 18% of the population who do not possess identity cards for voting when within an year entire Department has been furnished with two or three computers. The "Writing Pool" of the Department do not have a single computer. 140 clerical officers who work in the pool write NICs manually. This pool itself operates with a dearth of 50 clerical staff. The efficiency of the Department is handicapped as the Department is still use primitive technology, introduced in 1972 to process identity cards. The Pool of the Department however, issue 700,000 identity cards a year. Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake and leaders of political parties decided to make the identity cards mandatory at future elections. The department receives around 8,000 applications a day and issues about 2500 identity cards despite shortcomings in the department, Commissioner P.B. Abeykoon told the Sunday Observer. The Department first issued NICs in 1972 and the format of the NIC never changed except adding a few security features. The Department estimate have revealed that 18.5% of the population in the country do not have possess NICs. The Commissioner is now preparing a list of requirements to submit to the concerned authorities to obtain facilities to expedite the new project. "If I am given enough facilities we can issue identity cards to each and every person. Now we issue about 700,000 per annum working manually", Abeykoon said. However, the Ministry has promised him to give 40 computers. Once the Department is computerised, he is confident of delivering the goods. Thereafter identity cards will be issued within three weeks time. The commissioner plans to house all the divisions in one building as certain important sections in the department are now scattered all over. Writing pool has been operating at Barnes Place and the record room at Nugegoda. The Commissioner has closed the Maradana office due to certain malpractices there. The laws will be amended to make every person renew identity cards every 15 years, the Commissioner said. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
