Ghana Card issuance hits another snag, NIA silent

Papisdaff Abdullah.

Prof Ken Attafuah

Hundreds of officers who gathered at selected centers to get their National ID Card also known as the Ghana Card were left stranded and disappointed after officials of the National Identification Authority failed to turn up and get them registered.

The exercise was scheduled to kick off at 7:00am at some key state agencies and institutions including the Jubilee House, Parliament, Judicial Service and the various security installations.

Officers who had massed up had to disperse and return to their base as officials of NIA failed to show up for the much touted project to take off.

No official explanation has been given for the failure to kick start the project today but some NIA officials cited technical reasons for the delay.

The government of Ghana is contributing $531 million of the total $1.2 billion cost, while Identity Management System (IMS), which is partnering the NIA under a public/private partnership (PPP) agreement, will provide $678 million for the exercise.

The issuance of a National Identification ID card is among the few key projects the government promised to execute to formalize the country’s economy.

Many Ghanaians have already expressed regret over the seeming delays in the issuance of the cards after more than three previous deadlines set by the government to execute it, was not met.

Chief Executive Officer of the Authority, Prof. Kenneth Attafuah had stated that all the necessary documentation and legal framework for the registration and issuance of the Ghana Card had been set up to kick-start the process.

He stated that key individuals such as the country’s former Presidents Kufuor, Mahama and Rawlings, Members of the Ghana Journalists Association, among others, were supposed to be issued with the cards first before registration opens for the general public.