The Sierra Leone government has received a large shipment of biometric registration kits.

The shipment arrived on Thursday of this week, with Minister of Internal Affairs Alfred Palo Conteh asserting that it “will send a clear and strong message to the general public that the 2018 general elections will surely take place” – a poignant message in an atmosphere of growing poverty and lawlessness in the country. National Civil Registration Authority Director General Foday Kamara added that the 4,066 biometric registration kits reflected a surplus: “3,800 is what government paid for and the 266 kits are spares,” he said.

The generous shipment came by way of Smartmatic. Specializing in large-scale biometric enrollment projects, the company was also approached by Ugandan authorities last year to provide the technology and service expertise for its first biometric election.

In Sierra Leone, the NCRA’s next move will be to install the necessary technological infrastructure and begin training elections staff, with 2018 elections expected to be scheduled for sometime before February of that year.