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The Green Party says it is concerned that the Intergrated National Registration System has only been deployed in a paltry 10 out of 116 districts in the country.
Zambian is implementing its Integrated National Registration Information System (INRIS), intended to replace the 1965 issuance system of national registration cards to citizens aged 16 years and above using a manual and paper based system.
Party president, Peter Sinkamba, also expressed concern that even in the districts where the system had been deployed, the success rate was below par, especially with regard to replacement of the 1965 system cards.
Sinkamba in a statement issued in Lusaka on Tuesday, however applauded government that the INRIS system development had been completed and hardware connectivity set up.
“We are further concerned they system may be used in the 2026 elections, and that could create acrimonous environment in the nation,” he stated.
Sinkamba indicated that the Green Party planned to facilitate an inter-party and inter-agency conference, to review the success rate of the rollout of the new system.
He hoped that the review would help the nation to collectively devise a strategy that would effectively accelerate the implementation.
“We are targeting 90 percent success rate by 2026. We hope to facilitate the conference in the first quarter of 2024,” Sinkamba said.
He added that as a party, it supported the rolling out of the INRIS system because it could address several challenges of the 1965 system such as population growth and sophistication in technology.
Sinkamba noted that the new system would eliminate duplication of national registration card numbers, identity theft and other challenges in national record management.
“We also support the new system because it will also eliminate fraud in provision of wider services beyond the issuance of biometric enabled digital national identity cards and civil registration,” he said.
Sinkamba stated that the new system would also eliminate massive fraud in voters’ card acquisition, provision of social cash transfer, Farmer Input Support Programme (FISP) access, and delivery of other social services to ineligible persons.
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