Ghanaians living in Ghana to get free Ghana Card, says NIA

The National Identification Authority (NIA) has deferred the resumption of mass registration for the Ghana Card to Wednesday 10 June. The exercise had been scheduled to start today, 8 June.

The Authority says the exercise will provide 3,875,441 printed cards to Ghana Card applicants through 5,635 registration centres, spread across all 16 regions of Ghana.

A notice to the press signed by the NIA’s head of corporate affairs, Francis Palmdeti, said the deferral was to ensure that all registration centres would have adequate access to personal protective equipment.

Essential ID

The NIA says the nine-day extension of mass registration will enable 11,062,850 Ghanaians to take possession of their Ghana Cards in good time.

These can be used to vouch for their relatives or other Ghanaians who wish to register during the nationwide mop-up registration exercise which commences on 18 June 2020 and ends mid-September 2020.

It will also enable individuals in possession of the Ghana Card to use it for other mandatory purposes as stated in the National Identity Register Regulations 2012 (LI 2111).

These include registering to vote and vouching for others as Ghanaians.

Timely exercise

The NIA expressed confidence that it will be able to issue sufficient Ghana Cards before the Electoral Commission’s scheduled voter registration exercise.

The Authority offered further assurances that it will supply adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) to all NIA field officials for use during the exercise.

A statement from the NIA said all members of the public could rest assured that its registration centres would be equipped with the necessary resources to ensure their health and safety during the mass registration and mop-up exercises. Officials will observe the Ghana Health Service safety protocols at all NIA registration centres, it said.

“In addition, security personnel will be deployed at each registration centre to ensure that crowd control measures such as physical distancing and an appointments system are strictly observed.”

The statement added that applicants attending NIA card collection centres must wear a mask and wash their hands before they begin the process of collecting their card.

The Ghana Card is a secure and multipurpose card that establishes the biometric identity of the bona fide holder.

The card is a vital document for all residents of Ghana, foreign and Ghanaian. It allows for verification and authentication of electronic and physical transactions in providing services, both public and private.

Charles Credence and E A Alanore

* Asaase Radio 99.5 FM. Launching 14 June. Tune in or log on to live streaming.

* Twitter: @asaaseradio995

* This article was updated at 8.50am to reflect the deferral of the next stage of mass registration from 8 June to 10 June.