- Overwhelmed ID system is locking thousands out of banking and public services, sparking growing frustration and fueling corruption.
- $2 million World Bank funding for more centers is on hold because the government owes $1.7 million to tech provider.
- Elderly residents and the poor are struggling most, with some losing access to savings and support schemes. Civil society groups warn the system risks excluding the very people it was meant to empower.
RED LIGHT, Monrovia – Rick Scott arrived at the National Identification Registry center here on a recent morning at 5 a.m., joining a line of hopeful citizens in the predawn darkness. By evening, the 54-year-old businessman returned home empty-handed for the fourth time in a week, clutching his $5 registration fee and a growing sense of frustration.
By Tetee Gebro and Joyclyn Wea with New Narratives
“I leave my job in the morning and come to find an ID card because it’s a government mandate,” Scott said, his voice reflecting weariness. “We are all fighting to get an ID card, and then the process is just going slowly. Some of us are not feeling well, but we are forced to come here.”
Scott’s experience reflects a Catch 22 facing thousands of Liberians: In April President Joseph Boakai issued an executive order that they obtain a national identification cards in order to access government and private company services including banking. But two months on the National Identification Registry is overwhelmed, leaving citizens camping in lines for days, often to be turned away.
Frustration is growing.
In March, the World Bank launched the $30 million Governance Reform & Accountability Transformation Project known by the acronym GREAT, to digitize a vast range of government services that are now done manually and on paper. The funding came through the Bank’s International Development Association as part of a global “Identification for Development” initiative.
The investment represented a significant commitment to modernizing Liberia’s citizen services, with digital ID registration as the cornerstone. The National ID registration has been law in Liberia since 2011 but only 14 per cent had registered before now. The president’s mandate came after substantial funding was committed to the project. Government has allocated—$27 million in the last two budgets taking the total government and World Bank commitment to more than $57 million.
President Boakai issued Executive Order No. 147, on April 14 directing all Liberians to register by August 1 when their IDs will be linked to cellular SIM cards. But many institutions have already begun demanding the ID.
Pastor Houston Harris from the Better World Church discovered this firsthand when he attempted to secure a loan but was turned away because he had no an ID card.
“It looks so bad for me because I am supposed to receive money, and I can’t receive money,” Harris said. “I use the money to do business and also take care of my family.”
Existing Centers Cannot Process Cards Fast Enough
At the center Harris visited, only 85 people are served daily. There are 15 centers operating in Monrovia (another 15 operate outside the capital).
If all centers process 85 registrations a day, that’s 1275 total each day – in a city with a population of more than a million adults. At that rate, it will take 785 workdays, or more than three years, to register all adults in Monrovia.
Marlene Rose Clark, a 72nd community resident, arrived at 7 a.m. only to learn that the day’s 85 tickets had already been distributed. “So what becomes of the rest of us?” she asked, sharing the frustration of citizens who cannot afford to wake up at 5 a.m. to compete for limited slots.

Clark said she observed another problem in a country crippled by corruption: She heard that people are bribing officials for faster service.
“I know that they want to bypass the system to give them some cash, handouts, to be able to put you in… They only want us to give them money, extra money, outside of what is required,” she said.
World Bank Funding for Centers is Delayed Because of Outstanding Government Debt
The roll out has been slowed because the government has been unable to access $US2 million in funding earmarked for more centers by the World Bank.
In an interview Andrew Peters, executive director of the National Identification Registry, conceded the funding has been blocked because of an outstanding debt to Techno Brand, the Nairobi-based technology firm that constructed the Registry’s digital infrastructure at a cost of $5.9 million. World Bank requirements stipulate that all existing debts must be cleared before new funds can be disbursed.
Peters said The Registry has now made a payment plan agreement with the company. “We are hoping that maybe next month, the Bank will lift that so we can access that money, but as it is, we have not received any funding,” said Peters.
He then has ambitious plans to scale up enrollment centers. “We’ve got a mobile team of almost 25,” he said, and detailed plans to establish 59 permanent centers and 118 mobile teams. Peters said he was optimistic about processing 500,000 people by August and one million by year-end.
Liberia has lagged behind neighboring countries in digitization services. Nigeria, with similar international backing, has successfully registered more than 117 million people for its National Identity Number (NIN) program, from an adult population of about 130 million.
Sierra Leone has achieved 93 percent coverage, according to the government. 80 percent of government services have been digitized, allowing far more efficient processing of all sorts of government services, including birth registrations, driver’s licenses, and more.
Vulnerable Populations Bear the Greatest Burden
For now, experts fear that vulnerable populations will be most impacted.
Musu Vai, a 70-year-old woman from Fiahma, travelled across the district to register so she could access her money in the small savings and loan scheme operated by BRAC, a global nonprofit. Despite her age and discomfort—she complained of headaches during the interview—she was turned away without assistance at the Registry headquarters in Congo Town. That is now locking her out of access to badly needed money.
“They say I should go get a citizen ID card before I get the money. They nah (don’t) want a voting card again,” Musu Vai said. “I don’t know anyone there to help me, and my head is turning, so I want to go back home.”

Many elderly citizens like Ma Musu lack the physical stamina to endure long lines, or the social connections to navigate a system that some say is now fueled by corruption.
The costs have also been criticized. With World Bank data showing more than one in four Liberians lives under the international poverty line of $2.15 a day, the $US5 registration fee has been a significant burden for many families. The requirement that even renewals cost the same as new registration has drawn criticism from citizens who argue that existing registrants should pay reduced fees.
Watchdogs fear tensions will mount as the August 1 deadline to connect registrations to SIM card numbers approaches. GSM companies have begun alerting their subscribers.

“A huge number of our population will be cut off from the economy, from access to telecommunications,” warned Harold Aidoo, head of Integrity Watch Liberia.
He is one of many civil society activists who backed the national ID system, but who have condemned the poor roll out.
“From a governance standpoint, this is very important because it enables the government to have a better database to know which portion of its population needs what kind of services,” said Aidoo. But he said, “there has been a lack of awareness across the country. We need to complement it with financing and resourcing to make sure that there is adequate education.”

For now, frustrations are growing as the lives of thousands of Liberians are in limbo as they brave early mornings, long lines, and corruption to comply with a presidential order that is meant to help them, but which many fear risks excluding the very people it was meant to empower.
This story was a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the Investigating Liberia project. Funding was provided by the Swedish Embassy in Liberia. The funder had no say in the story’s content.