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The National Civil Registration Authority (NCRA), in collaboration with the Institute for Democratic and Humanitarian Affairs (IDHA), and the Bike Riders Union (BRU) have successfully concluded the first phase of a nationwide initiative to provide National Identification Cards to commercial motorbike riders across Sierra Leone, with all 3,000 cards now formally handed over to the executive of the Bike Riders Union for distribution to beneficiaries.
The initiative targeted commercial youth motorbike riders across five districts, Western Urban, Western Rural, Bo, Kenema, and Bombali (Makeni), with 600 riders per district enrolled during the first phase.
NCRA Director General Mohamed Mubashir MASSAQUOI, during the handing over, described the initiative as a living expression of President Julius Maada Bio’s declaration of 2026 as the “Year of Action,” reaffirming the government’s determination to bring essential services directly to the people rather than requiring citizens to navigate bureaucratic processes from a distance. He emphasised that the handover of all 3,000 cards is concrete proof that the government is delivering on its commitments.
The mobile NCRA teams were deployed to designated centres jointly identified with the Bike Riders Union over two weeks. During this time, beneficiaries applied for new national ID cards, collected their printed cards, and updated personal records, including names and other biographic details. The successful completion of that process and the formal handover of all 3,000 cards to the union’s executive marks the close of the first phase.
Additionally, he further stressed that possession of a national ID card is no longer optional. It is increasingly required for access to financial services, motorcycle registration, licensing, social protection, and law enforcement processes, making the initiative not merely a civic gesture but a practical intervention in the daily lives of thousands of young Sierra Leoneans.
He added that a reliable national identification system strengthens law enforcement, emergency response, and social protection frameworks, particularly in situations involving accidents or civil disputes.
Finally, the project is anchored by IDHA Programme Director Mr. Olagai Simon, who explained that the intervention was designed in direct response to findings from financial behavioural studies conducted among bike riders across the five districts, which revealed that the absence of national identification was a primary barrier excluding many young riders from banking, credit, and other financial services.
