Parliament has approved the proposal to have the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) take over civil registration (i.e. civil marriages) from the Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB).
The Uganda Registration Services Bureau (Amendment) Bill, 2024 which seeks to transfer the civil registration services from URSB to NIRA was passed with amendments during Thursday’s plenary.
MPs, however, insisted that the transfer should be done in a phased manner to allow NIRA to build capacity.
Hon Richard Oseku (Kibale County) informed Parliament of concerns raised by the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee about the readiness of NIRA to ensure a smooth transfer of the functions of URSB without disruption or without compromising on service delivery to the public.
According to the Minister of Justice, Hon. Norbert Mao, the purpose of this bill is to transfer the registration of marriages to NIRA.
“We have already transferred the registration of birth and death, so we want to move this to its proper address,” said Hon Mao.
Whereas the legal committee report presented by Hon. Oseku recommended that civil registration services be transferred to NIRA, they cautioned that it be done in a staggered manner until NIRA builds capacity to deliver on the new mandate.
NIRA will also take on the mandate to register all faith-based and customary marriages.
The authority’s new services will include celebration and registration of civil marriages, registration of all faith-based marriages, customary marriages and civil marriages, licensing and registration of churches that would wish to celebrate marriages, creation, maintenance and update of registers relating to matters required for registration under the Marriage Act and the Customary Marriage (Registration) Act and all other laws regulating marriages and holding and dissemination of information in relation to marriages celebrated in Uganda, including the issuance of single status letters to those wishing to solemnize their marriages.