The National Identification Registry is an autonomous agency within the Executive Branch of the Government of Liberia. It was created by an Act of the National Legislature in 2011 because the framers were, among other things, “mindful that double dipping, illegal migration and other frauds resulting from impersonation and identity theft continue to undermine the efforts of Government to strengthen public and private institutions, provide essential services, and promote rule of law and progress.”
Therefore, the response to the above challenges was to create the NIR, with a mandate to “design, produce, and issue biometric cards, each with a unique identifying number to be called a Social Security Number, to be the primary government approved identity number (for registration of birth, death, passports, immigrant documents, bank accounts, Driver’s License, social security benefits, and other identification documents) supported by adequate and appropriate security features to address the challenge of possible fraudulent duplication."
In 2017, the NIR entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP) and the Civil Service Agency (CSA) for the biometric enrollment of the employees of the Government of Liberia. The primary objective of this partnership was to use the unique identification attributes of the Registry to remove ‘ghost’ names from the GoL payroll. Prior to this effort, several projects had been undertaken by the Government to address the perennial problem of ‘ghosts’ on the payroll; but none of these efforts had produced a sustainable solution. It was estimated that at least five percent of the payroll budget was lost to ‘ghost’ payments.
To meet the challenge of enrolling all citizens and residents into the National Biometric Identification System (NBIS), we operate 23 Enrollment Centers across the country, including locations in the capital city of each county.
STATUTORY MANDATES
A section of the Preamble of the NIR Act of 2011 states, “Mindful of the double dipping, illegal migration and other frauds resulting from impersonation and identity theft continue to undermine the efforts of Government to strengthen public and private institutions, provide essential services, and promote rule of law and progress.”
Section 1.1 of the NIR Act provides for the establishment of the National Identification Registry, referred to interchangeably in the Act as the “NIR” or the “Registry”, as an autonomous entity within the Executive Branch of the Government of Liberia repealing PRC Decree # 65, establishing the National Identification Card System.
Subsequently, the Act gives statutory mandates to the NIR including, but not limited to, the following:
Section 3.1:The general functions of the Registry shall be to design, establish, maintain, and administer/implement the National Biometric Identification System (NBIS) of the Republic of Liberia.
Section 3.2 (b):To collect, organize, store, secure, and grant access to secure biometric data to be collected from individuals applying for national biometric identification cards, and other key documents such as Passport, Driver’s License and Social Security cards.
Section 3.2 (d): To design, produce, and issue biometric cards, each with a unique identifying number to be called a Social Security Number, to be the primary government approved identity number (for registration of birth, death, passports, immigrant documents, bank accounts, Driver’s License, social security benefits, and other identification documents) supported by adequate and appropriate security features to address the challenge of possible fraudulent duplication.
Section 8.5: For purposes of public and private transactions, including banking, social benefits, and traffic regulation, a National Social Security Card and a National Biometric Card issued in keeping with this Act shall be conclusive of the identity of the person, but not of the person’s entitlement or rights that are defined or regulated by other law, procedures, or private agreements. A public or private service provider may, at its discretion, require additional identification to establish the status and eligibility of its customers or stakeholders.
Additional information about the NIR can be found under different subheadings on this website or kindly send email to the inquiry email address on this website.
