Authorities conducting the Intergrated National Registration Information System (INRIS) enrollment exercise have expressed concern at the low turnout of people in Ndola, on the Copperbelt Province.

The Cooperbelt Provincial INRIS Coodinator Kennedy Chisupa said the exercise started slow. He however said that in the past days the numbers have increased.

He attributed this to speculations that government is changing from the Green National Identity cards to Red Identity cards.

There are speculations in some areas of Ndola district on the Cooperbelt Province alleging that the government INRIS program is enrolling people to be issued with red cards which would have a bearing on voting.

Mr. Chisupa who dispelled the assertions said that they have hampered the enrollment program in same areas.

“When we started we recorded low turn out but with sensitization people have started turning up.

This came to light when a team of officers from the Public Relations Office from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security Head Office, paid a courtesy call on Mr Chisupa before visiting the INRIS enrollment sites.

Among the points visited are Itawa Primary School of Itawa, Hands of Compassion Community School of Chipulukusu and Malasha Combined School of Chifubu all of Ndola District.

In Chipulukusu, residents found on the queue revealed that the community has been shunning the enrollment into the INRIS due to wide speculations of the alleged introduction of a red National Registration Card (NRC) to replace the green one and that the exercise has a bearing on the country’s voting system.

Other residents have also told the officers that they have to endure a long wait to complete the enrollment citing shortage of manpower and technical issues.

Authorities in the district carrying out the exercise were also found sensitising members of the public on the high security features of a digital identity system.

The ongoing enrollment exercise is meant to capture, verify, and later activate an Integrated National Registration Information System for the use of a digitised National Identity System.