Lt. General Achol Cyier, the newly appointed Director General of the Civil Registry, Nationality, Passport and Immigration - Courtesy

The newly appointed Director General of the Civil Registry, Nationality, Passport and Immigration in Juba, Lt. General Achol Cyier, has pledged to improve service delivery through digital modernization, stronger accountability, and measures to combat fraud, as her predecessor, Elia Costa, hands over an institution stocked with thousands of passports and national identity cards.

Lt. General Cyier says her administration will also seek to strengthen border security while ensuring the lawful movement of people across South Sudan’s borders.

She states that the Directorate plays a critical role in protecting national identity, citizenship, and sovereignty, while providing essential services to citizens.

Cyier highlights that one of her priorities will be to strengthen transparency and accountability, ensuring that passports, certificates, and permits are issued fairly and with integrity.

She also plans to expand digital systems to streamline registration, reduce delays, and combat fraud, while improving the skills of officers through continuous training in professional ethics, customer service, and border management.

The new Director General adds that she will strengthen cooperation with regional and international partners to improve standards, information sharing, and lawful travel.

Lt. General Cyier has called on staff to support her reform agenda, emphasizing that she will not discriminate on the basis of group or tribe. She also encouraged women across South Sudan to take up leadership positions and contribute to building inclusive public institutions.

Meanwhile, the outgoing Director General, Elia Costa, says he is leaving the Directorate with significant stocks of passports and national identity cards after addressing what he described as major challenges when he assumed office in February 2025.

Costa states that the Directorate had previously faced shortages of passport booklets, national IDs, and diplomatic passports, as well as internal divisions, power supply issues, and fraud involving middlemen.

He notes that the Directorate now has approximately 32,000 passport booklets, 172,000 national identity cards, and 2,000 diplomatic passports in stock.

Costa also highlights that he procured 100 mobile registration kits to expand civil registration services to rural communities.

Under his leadership, the Directorate launched school-based nationality registration and signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Nairobi aimed at establishing an integrated civil registry system for recording births, deaths, and marriages.

Costa says other achievements include plans for a backup server, mass registration campaigns in urban and rural areas, improved electricity arrangements, and the construction of additional identity registration facilities.

He expressed confidence in Lt. General Achol Cyier, urging her to build on the progress made during his tenure.

The leadership change comes as the Directorate seeks to expand access to identity and travel documents while strengthening the country’s civil registration and border management systems.