Gbarnga, Bong County — Long queues, high transportation costs, and mounting frustration are now routine for residents of Bong County as hundreds struggle to obtain their National Identification Cards at the only functional enrollment center of the National Identification Registry (NIR) in Gbarnga.
The growing outcry follows President Joseph Boakai's issuance of Executive Order No. 131 on May 17, mandating that all citizens secure a National ID card by August 31 or risk being denied essential public services, including banking. However, the system in place is proving inadequate, especially for residents in remote and underserved areas.
"I paid 900 Liberian dollars to come here and 900 to return--that's more than the cost of the ID itself," said Allen K. Flomo, a teacher from Komata. "And after all that, the phones were down. We couldn't be served."
Bong County, with a population exceeding 400,000, operates only one NIR center in Gbarnga, creating a daily bottleneck. Lines begin forming as early as 6 a.m., yet many citizens leave without being served. Christian Kollie, a young man from District No. 2, said he submitted his registration form but hadn't yet been called for his photo. According to him, the delay stems from the fact that ID cards are printed only in Monrovia. He noted that some citizens have waited weeks--some even months--without receiving their cards.
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Kollie urged the government to decentralize the enrollment process and called for an extension of the registration deadline. He said the Gbarnga center alone cannot handle the volume and recommended that two more centers be opened in Bong County to ease the pressure.
Amid these frustrations, some applicants have complained not just about delays but also about the treatment they receive at the center. Esther Wolopaye, a resident of Gbonoi Town, recounted a painful encounter with a female staffer at the Gbarnga office. Visibly upset, Wolopaye said the staffer dismissed her unfairly.
"She asked me a question, and before I could answer, told me to go outside," Wolopaye said tearfully. "She claimed I didn't know anything because I didn't go to school. But I paid my money like everyone else. Is it a crime to be poor?"
Her story echoes the sentiments of many other rural women who say they feel disrespected and disregarded in the ID registration process. Another applicant from neighboring Lofa County described spending 1,500 Liberian dollars to travel to Gbarnga only to be told to return another day due to system issues. "I came with hope, but I'm leaving with disappointment," she said.
Inside the Gbarnga office, staff are overwhelmed and under-resourced. Farsu Papay, who heads the NIR office in Bong, acknowledged the scale of the problem. He said the center operates with only three staff members and one immigration officer, all struggling to manage the daily influx of applicants.
"The number of people coming is too high for us," Papay said. "But we're doing our best." He said the office has requested additional centers, particularly in Totota, which serves as a commercial hub in Bong County. However, such decisions can only be approved by the NIR's Monrovia headquarters.
Papay also responded to Wolopaye's allegations, denying that any staff member acted unprofessionally. He said the staff work under intense pressure and are often at the receiving end of citizen frustration.
"We are doing our best under very challenging conditions," he said. "We face insults from clients due to delays that are beyond our control. After enrollment, we must send all data to Monrovia for printing, which can take one to two weeks or longer."
Further aggravating the situation are reports that commercial banks have begun turning away customers who fail to present a valid national ID card--even when they present proof of registration. One woman said she was unable to access her own money despite having a registration receipt. "Even if you show them the receipt, they say no," she said. The policy has left many citizens unable to pay school fees, buy food, or respond to health emergencies.
Transportation costs remain a major hurdle. Citizens traveling from remote districts report spending between 700 to 1,500 Liberian dollars per trip. Anthony Kolleh of Jorquelleh District No. 2 described paying 1,000 Liberian dollars just to get to the center. "The road is terrible. We even have to push our bikes through the mud," he said.
Joseph Manobo said he had already spent over 2,000 Liberian dollars and still hadn't received his ID. "This is frustrating. We're calling on the government to do better," he said.
Papay stressed that the centralized printing system is a key cause of the delays. He explained that once a citizen completes enrollment, their data is transmitted to Monrovia, where cards are printed before being returned to the counties. The delay, he said, leads to frequent complaints and even verbal abuse directed at staff. He added that some staff members go as far as giving out their personal phone numbers to help applicants follow up on their cards.
He acknowledged that citizens from Lofa, Nimba, and Gbarpolu counties are also converging at the Gbarnga office due to the lack of functioning centers in those areas. The heavy influx, he said, has stretched the office beyond capacity.
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"We could work more efficiently if we had more staff and more centers," Papay said. "We agree with the recommendation that cards should be printed locally, but only the national government can approve that."
As the August 31 deadline approaches, applicants continue to wait in long lines. Some murmur quietly; others express their frustrations more vocally. Elsa Nyenpan, standing among the crowd, voiced her exasperation. "Even when you get here early, you don't know if you'll be served. We're tired. We're tired of being ignored."
Among the suggestions circulating among residents and local staff are calls for the government to open at least two more NIR enrollment centers in Bong County, including one in Totota and another in Upper Bong. Many are also calling for an extension of the registration deadline to at least November, arguing that the current system cannot accommodate the overwhelming demand. Others have urged that commercial banks be allowed to temporarily honor registration receipts while citizens await the arrival of their printed cards.
There are also appeals for increased staffing, more technical support, and a decentralization of the ID printing process to improve turnaround time. In addition, citizens say better communication and more respectful treatment of applicants are needed to restore public trust in the system.
