NID office needs stepping up

I READ with great interest on Friday’s paper that National Planning and Monitoring Minister Sam Basil told Parliament that students applying for loans to pay their school fees can have their national identification (NID) documents processed within 10 days.
That is a very big step forward and we thank Basil for acting on a need that has been neglected for years.
There are many people, professionals and commoners, still waiting for their NID papers to be processed.
Some have been waiting for years and it is frustrating as they need a valid ID to do other things.
Can the services at NID offices be improved so that the planned 10-day turnover service can be made to be accessible to all citizens?
Teachers all over the country were also told at the beginning of this year to get their NID documents and I am of the view that many are still waiting for their papers processed. (Some of us have questioned why the Education Department had issued such a directive when all teachers have their file numbers to use in terms of identifying themselves. But, of course, that is another issue which may be further investigated.)
We are informed that for processing of a new passport, a citizen should have a birth certificate processed by a NID office.
However, with the all-too-common delays by different NID offices around the country, a lot of citizens have and will miss out on opportunities, including travelling out of the country for studies.
Could Basil and his team at the National Planning and Monitoring Department attend to this problem as soon as they can to help people get their NID documents processed within a few weeks or months at least?
At the very slow rate people are getting their papers processed, we do not know whether the cause of the prolonged delays are due to financial constraints, or just mere incompetency in those offices.
I suggest too, that Basil and his department should work closely with the PNG Immigration and Citizenship Authority (PNGICA) and learn from them about how best they can manage their offices and personnel to fast-track the processes involved in issuing ID papers and related services to our people.
Those services are vital for our people and should be made accessible to everyone.
The 10-day turnover service should be accessible by everyone, not just students or educated professionals.
The NID offices should be managed properly to be effective at all times and for everyone who is a citizen of this country.

Concerned Citizen