Nearly half a million students apply for loans via digital residential ID

Unguja. A total of 489,409 applications have been submitted online, two months after the Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB) adopted the digital address identity system.

The board introduced the system on June 15, 2025, requiring applicants to submit residential letters digitally.

The revelation was made on Saturday, August 16, 2025, by the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mr Jerry Silaa, during the launch of the National Address Programme (NaP) in Zanzibar.

“The system has been operational since June 15, 2025, allowing loan applicants to submit residential identity letters digitally. To date, all applications have been processed via the digital platform,” said Mr Silaa.

He noted that the system spares citizens the hassle of visiting local offices in villages, adding that in a digital economy, residential address cannot be overlooked.

Silaa stressed that the system lays a foundation that unites stakeholders and supports national economic growth.

“Logically, we must involve various stakeholders who can act as ambassadors for this system,” he said.

He added that plans include building officials’ capacity, including supplying tablets to shehia officers, and encouraging stakeholders to use the system in daily operations.

“To achieve this, the ministry has prepared a two-year plan to ensure coordinators and all 21,487 officials from regions and councils across mainland Tanzania and the islands are equipped with tablets,” he said.

This includes 92 regional coordinators, 390 council coordinators, 3,656 ward officials, 4,269 street officials, 12,333 village officials, 110 wards, and 388 shehia officials.

Zanzibar’s Second Vice President and guest of honour, Hemed Suleiman Abdulla, said the system will boost the economy and enhance security.

Mr Abdulla stated that the residential address system will not only drive digital economic growth but also support and expand the tourism sector and other industries.

“Citizens and other stakeholders have every reason to use this system to access services. I encourage people to use the app on smartphones and other platforms, as it will improve efficiency in daily operations,” he said.

“These are major reforms in delivering digital services. Every citizen should therefore register in this digital system,” added Mr Abdulla, warning that criminals who remove pillars and signs installed to help citizens identify locations will face consequences.

He also instructed the Ministry of Construction and Regional Authorities to build officials’ capacity in using the system.

The Minister of Construction, Communications and Transport, Dr Khalid Salum Mohamed, said the work of assigning addresses is ongoing, with 450,124 addresses already established in Zanzibar’s streets and plots.

He added that the system’s effectiveness requires collaboration with all stakeholders.

“Firstly, these addresses must be integrated with digital systems and linked to commercial postal services and emergency information systems,” he said.

He stressed the need to integrate the system with financial and transport networks, as urban development and road construction require alignment with operational and voter registration systems.

The Zanzibar Ministry of Construction, Communications, and Transport Permanent Secretary, Dr Habiba Hassan Omar, said they initially piloted the system in four shehias, and evaluations indicate considerable success.

She said tablets will be provided to all shehas to facilitate issuing digital identity letters.

“Citizens must obtain residential addresses, especially those who have not yet done so, as these will serve as identification,” she said.

The Minister of State in the President’s Office, Regional Administration, Local Governments, and Zanzibar’s Special Departments, Mr Masoud Ali Mohamed, said the initiative will bring substantial reforms in service delivery.

To support it, the government has begun constructing sheha offices; 60 are completed, and another 147 are under construction, and all 388 will be completed in 2026.

“The presence of these offices will ease service delivery, particularly when using the digital system. Citizens will develop the habit of identifying themselves using residential addresses,” said Mr Mohamed.