Uganda: Paving the way for secure IDs
Uganda: Paving the way for secure IDs Creating a joint venture for secure printing and new jobs
The Republic of Uganda is known for its abundant wildlife including the famous silverback mountain gorillas as well as rare birds like the crested crane. In addition to its beautiful landscapes and rich fauna, the country is also a prime example of setting the course for long-term prosperity. The country situated in East Africa has managed to reduce inflation in the last years, and the economic growth went on recently as well. Nevertheless, there is a great need to create jobs for high-skilled workers in order to ensure social stability. The economic delegation in the company of German Chancellor Angela Merkel that visited several African countries in August 2018 also recognized the need to take the continent into consideration for innovative projects.
Joint venture with stable development in mind
In this context, the state-owned Uganda Printing and Publishing Corporation (UPPC) is taking a pioneering role with establishing the Uganda Security Printing Company (USPC), a joint venture with Veridos. This will enable the country to provide its citizens with highly secure, state-of-the-art identity documents including ePassports. A newly constructed facility will create jobs for highly skilled workers – an important step towards supporting the economic growth Uganda has achieved over the past few years. It is also one of the many steps the country took to secure an optimistic outlook into the future for its young population. It also underlines the ambition of Uganda to be a vital member of the East African Community, an intergovernmental organization of six countries, whose standards with respect to the ePassport will be met by establishing this joint venture.
Roadmap to security: identity solutions, produced on-site
The soon-to-be-established facility will enable Uganda to produce secure documents and to supply associated systems and services for its citizens. ePassports and polycarbonate ID cards will be locally produced, making the country more independent and cost-efficient in the process. ePassport enrollment, data management and document personalization systems will also be set up by USPC and operated by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Modernizing the document infrastructure and production is proving to be especially challenging, as a short implementation period is necessary for the ePassport system alone. In this context, Uganda relies on the expertise of Veridos for the timely realization of the Made-in-Germany high quality solution. The project accesses a broad range of the Veridos portfolio including the most secure enrollment and personalization systems. In addition to capacity building in the field of security printing industry, the endeavor will allow Uganda to achieve huge financial savings as opposed to importing documents.
Long-term and stable development
The 15-year agreement is seen as a lasting commitment to the future of the country. The ability to modernize the entire document infrastructure and handling is what especially excited Evelyn Anite, State Minister of Finance for Investment and Privatization in Uganda. “It will create more than 100 jobs for highly-skilled workers”, she said. On the side of Veridos, this project is a great investment in the future of the country as well. “Ugandan citizens will benefit from smooth and secure travel with ICAO-compliant* ePassports and enhanced identification processes thanks to the new sophisticated ID cards”, said Veridos CEO Hans Wolfgang Kunz, proud of the first investment of Veridos in production on the African continent.