The National Identification Authority (NIA) has announced that Phase I of the Ghana Card Registration exercise, which was exclusively reserved for first-time applicants who are Public Sector Workers on the Government of Ghana (GoG) Payroll, has come to an end due to extremely low turn out.
Phase I of the exercise, was originally planned to last for ten (10) days, from August 28 to September 8, 2023, but the NIA has been compelled to cancel truncate it because the people expected to show up and register are not showing up.
The decision to apportion ten (10) days for Phase I was based on the figures provided by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department, estimating 250,000 – 260,000 Public Sector Workers on GoG Payroll to participate in the Phase I. Unfortunately, only 87 of the targeted beneficiaries presented themselves for registration.
The intent of was to ensure that all persons on government of Ghana payroll had Ghana Card, so they could be rolled over into the biometric payroll system. This will then enable the Controller and Accountant General Department to wipe all ghost names from the payroll.
With only 87 out of about 260,000 persons showing up to register for the Ghana Card, almost 260,000 names stand to be deleted from the government payroll possibly by close of this month.
Phase II begins
Meanwhile, Phase II of the registration exercise will begin Monday, September 4, 2023. This is to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in the use of public resources, and to ensure that other members of the public are able to access NIA’s services
“As a result, effective Monday, September 4, 2023, Phase II of the Ghana Card Registration exercise will commence, and all Ghanaians aged 15 years and above are eligible to register for the Ghana Card free charge as first-time applicants at any of the NIA’s 276 District Offices across the country. This free registration service is also available at NIA Regional Offices in Accra, Bolgatanga, Cape Coast, Dambai, Damongo, Goaso, Nalerigu and Wa,” a statement from NIA said.
For the avoidance of doubt, the statement said, the free service for first-time applicants will NOT be available in the following NIA Regional Offices, which currently operate as Premium Registration Centers: Ho, Koforidua, Kumasi, Sunyani, Sefwi-Wiawso, Takoradi, Tamale and Techiman.
According to the statement, replacement and update services at the non-premium centres attract a statutory fee of GH¢34.50.
NIA also announces that it has resumed the Household and Institutional Registration services for households of five (5) or more Ghanaians, and institutions of 50 or more Ghanaians at a cost of 150ghs per applicant for the Household and 100ghs per applicant for the Institutional Registration.
For more information and updates on the registration process, please visit our official website at www.nia.gov.gh or contact our call hotline at (0302 999306 – 9, 0302, 0302 738333, 0242 438 615).
