NIA announces revised dates for Ghana Card mop-up registration
Ghanaians aged 15 and above who were unable to register earlier for the Ghana Card are expected to take advantage of the mopping-up
The National Identification Authority (NIA) has announced revised dates for mopping up Ghana Card registration in the various regions.
Registration in the Greater Accra Region, for instance, was initially expected to run from 16-29 August. However, the exercise will now commence on 24 August 2020 and end on 8 September 2020.
Meanwhile, mopping-up for the Ahafo, Bono and Bono East Regions, which was scheduled to take place from 20 August to 4 September, will now run from 27 August to 11 September 2020.
These are the only regions not covered since the NIA concluding its mopping-up exercises for Ashanti, Oti and Volta.
Logistically challenged
The NIA started the mass Ghana Card registration in 2019 but was unable to reach its target because of challenges with logistics.
By January this year, the Authority had managed to register just over 7.2 million people, still a long way short of its target of 16.7 million.
The mass registration was plagued by delays and postponements at many centres because of late arrival of equipment and other challenges.
As such, the NIA has so far not been able to show that it can achieve its target of registering 80% of the population by the end of mass registration.
Premium Ghana Card
In July, the NIA announced that individuals who had been unable to register for national ID cards could do so at a fee.
This was after the Authority introduced two packages, institutional and premium, which would enable individuals to register at their home or workplace for GHC100 and GHC250, respectively.
“Organisations can write to the NIA through the executive secretary for us to come and do institutional registration [for them]. That is at a fee of GHC100 per person.
“You can also invite us to your home as long as the persons in your home are more than five,” said the NIA’s chief executive officer, Professor Ken Attafuah.
“We can come and register at home, also at a fee of GHC100 per person. In terms of both, the logistics and distance we cover will also be picked up by the applicant.
“There is also premium registration … available. We set up a centre at Mövenpick or Golden Tulip or wherever, where we can go and register at a fee of GHC250. There are options, but all that we do at the mass registration centres is all free,” Professor Attafuah said.
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