Mass registration for NIA cards takes off smoothly

General News on Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Source: Ghananewsagency.org

2019-04-30

On Monday, many people in the Greater Accra region went to the various registration centers of the National Identification Authority (NIA) to register their names in the national identity register to be issued with the Ghana map.

The exercise from Monday to Saturday, which will end on Saturday, July 6, would capture eligible Ghanaians as early as the age of 15.

When the Ghana News Agency went to the Ga South Municipal Center at 9:00 am, the applicants had formed a long queue, waiting patiently for their turn.

The older ones, however, occupied the chairs provided by the officials.
Some of the complainants complained, however, of occasional interruptions in the receipt of biometric machines over the Internet, which slowed down the process.
This sometimes resulted in a registration process lasting about 20 minutes for an applicant.

Some of them have appealed to the NIA to increase the number of centers. Others said that they did not know how to acquire their digital address code and wanted more training to allow them to do so.

However, the general interaction with applicants from a number of centers indicated that many people were enthusiastic about obtaining the card, which would harmonize their information on the cards. 39, other identity cards and would also serve as a pbadport for ECOWAS.

The applicant must provide either an authentic birth certificate or a valid Ghanaian pbadport. or a valid citizenship certificate acquired, with a Ghana Post digital address code.
In addition, information on the applicant's national health insurance card, voter ID card, driver's license and SSNIT biometric card are entered.

Applicants without a birth certificate or pbadport are required to present a family member who has received the Ghana card to swear under oath.

Otherwise, two members of the community who are known to him, who have the card and who are practicing professionals or retired professionals, can vouch for the plaintiffs under oath.

These must be a director, a head of school, an official chief, a retired magistrate or a judge.

A doctor, a nurse, a lawyer and other personalities of society could also be a good one.

Registration on the national electronic identity register would integrate and harmonize existing identification registers to become the main source of identification system in Ghana.

It would also eliminate duplication of records and the waste of national resources by other government agencies to upgrade their national information systems.

As a result, Ghanaians living at home and abroad would have a biometric verification service, while all user agencies, including the Bank of Ghana, Social Security and the National Insurance Trust, the National Bank. The Health Insurance Authority and the Ghana Revenue Authority could benefit.

Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, executive secretary of the NIA, said at a press conference Thursday in Accra that the exercise would be extended to other regions after its closure in Greater Accra.

The Volta and Oti regions will have their turn from July 15th to August 1st; Northern, Savannah and Northeast Regions – August 13 to September 2; while the Upper East and Upper West regions will have their turn from September 12 to 29.

The others are Bono, Bono East and Ahafo- from 10 to 30 October; West and North West Region – November 11 to December 2; Ashanti region from December 10 to January 31, 2020.

The others are located in the eastern region – from February 12 to March 4; and Central Region – March 13 to 31.

The exercise starts at 8 am and ends at 5 pm but holidays are excluded.
Eighty-five percent of Ghanaians should be captured at the end of the exercise. Younger people would be registered after the main exercise.