Professor Attafuah (left) addresses the media
By Mudasiru Abdul Yakeen
The National Identification Authority (NIA) is set to create 833 centres for the registration for Ghana Card in the 33 districts and municipalities in the Eastern Region.
The registration is scheduled to last for two weeks, starting from March 4 to March 21.
The chief executive officer of NIA, Professor Kenneth Agyeman Attafuah, who addressed the media in Koforidua yesterday, said with the Eastern Region as the last area for the registration, the NIA will provide a second opportunity for citizens who were unable to register during the one year period of the mass registration.
According to him, the Ghana Card is a very sensitive card when it comes to security features and extraordinary technology.
He urged the public to provide the Authority with accurate information and credentials needed to make the exercise successful.
Free for All
Professor Attafuah stated that the registration for the Ghana Card is free for all Ghanaians above 15 years of age, and advised the public not to pay money to anybody who will claim to be an official of the NIA.
“We have experienced many such cases, where people have posed as NIA officials in other regions, demanding from unsuspecting citizens Gh₵30 before filling the registration forms. NIA doesn’t deal in such issues. I will entreat all of us to report anybody that that found extorting money for registration of the Ghana Card,” he stated.
Exclusion of foreigners
Professor Attafuah said the NIA will register foreigners legally living in the country, excluding diplomats, later after the mass registration.
He therefore urged them not to try to defraud the system, warning that the law will be allowed to take its full course should they be caught taking part in the ongoing mass registration.
He called on Ghanaians to help prevent foreigners from registering, saying “it is the duty of all Ghanaians to ensure that no foreigner is seen around the registration centres during the exercise.”
He disclosed that the identification card of foreigners will have different inscriptions and features from those of Ghanaians, and cautioned citizens who aid and abet foreigners to register to desist from the act.
