borkenaAugust 30,2018Addis Ababa residents are to get new identification card that will not feature ethnic identity unlike the case in the last 27 years. The decision came after the new Addis Ababa City administration made amendments to regulation regarding the issuance of identity card. The new digital ID will link the cardholder’s information to other government service providers including banks. Ethiopians have been criticizing in the past the practice of featuring ethnic identity on grounds that it promotes division on the basis of ethnicity while the TPLF/EPRDF regime before Abiy Ahmed administration made it compulsory for Ethiopians to declare ethnic identity on their identity cards. Many Ethiopians went to the extent of avoiding having identity cards so as to avoid the requirement to disclose ethnic identity.

Source: Ethiopian News August 31, 2018 03:33 UTC