A statement issued by the NIA said the arrests which occurred between 3rd and 6th January 2020, were the result of a collaboration between NIA and some aggrieved citizens in the Region who provided to NIA relevant incriminating evidence on the conduct of the suspects and also identified them to the Police.

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The arrested persons are:

1. Kenneth Sarfo Boateng – Commissioner for Oaths (CFO), Church of Christ Registration Centre, Nyinampong, Asante-Mampong

2. Ransford Omane Osei – Mobile Registration Workstation Operator (MRWO), Ampaabame Registration Centre near Ejisu;

3. De-graft Osei Mensah – Supervising Registration Officer (SRO), Kentinkrono M/A Primary School Registration Centre at KNUST;

4. Emmanuel Edusei Poku – District Registration Supervisor (DRS) Kentinkrono M/A Primary School Registration Centre at KNUST; and

5. Kwabena Dan – a resident of Nyinampong.

All the suspects have been granted Police enquiry bail and will be assisting the Police in investigations.

Below is the full statement

This has raised concerns among the foreigner community in the country who say the amount is outrageous as they are already being charged for the renewal of resident permits.

The NIA in an advertisement in the Daily Graphic last week said, “The National Identification Authority (NIA) in line with the National Identification Register Act, 2008 (Act 750), L.I 2111, is registering all foreign nationals resident in Ghana for 90 days or more and issuing them with the non-citizens Ghana Card issued at any Foreign Identification Management System (FIMS) registration centre.

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“The non-citizen Ghana Card shall be used for ALL transactions which require identification. Eligible foreign nationals who do not have a non-citizen citizen Ghana card are in breach of the law and may be refused access to essential services in Ghana,” the advert noted.

The NIA said all foreign nationals living in Ghana above age six are required to register for the card except “foreign nationals and their families working for the United Nations (UN), Embassies and Consulates.”

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Meanwhile, the International Spouses Association of Ghana (ISAG), an association of spouses of Ghana citizens are also protesting the move. They questioned the relevance of the card because they already possess identity documents which bear the same details that would be featured on the cards.

They content that they must not be included in the category of expatriates since they fall in a unique category by virtue of the fact that they are married.

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The spokesperson for the International Spouses Association of Ghana, Katie Danquah said “despite fully supporting the aim of producing a new national ID and electronic register that will enable the government plan for all persons living within Ghana, we strongly believe that foreign spouses of citizens of Ghana cannot be placed on the same categories as all other foreigners,” she said.

She added that, “the special circumstances of foreign spouses entitle them to equal treatment within socio-economic laws that benefit from their Ghanaian counterparts.”

Source: CITIFM

Over a hundred workers of the National Identification Authority (NIA) have threatened to boycott the registration of Ghana card over unpaid allowances by the authority.

The workers accuse the authority of not paying their allowances for a while, saying the failure was affecting their mobility to registration venues to carry out their duties.

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The workers say they were promised an amount of GHC70 as daily wages but lamented that not even a dime has been given to them so far.

Speaking to Adom News, some of the workers said they will be forced to quit the registration exercise if the NIA continues to ignore their concerns.

According to President Akufo-Addo, the new identification card signals the dawn of a new day in biometric identity management in Ghana, and the virtues of a public-private partnership arrangement in meeting the country’s development needs.

The President indicated that the launch of the card “constitutes a practical demonstration of the fulfilment of yet another promise of my party, the New Patriotic Party, made during the 2016 campaign.”

The campaign promise, he recounted, was that “we would modernise and formalise the Ghanaian economy through the establishment of a credible national database, and using the National Identification System (NIS) as the primary identifier, as prescribed by law.”

Despite several years of demonstrated inability to do so, the National Identification Authority (NIA), under the tenure of an NPP administration, the President said, is about to commence the registration and instant issuance of national identity cards to all Ghanaian citizens, both at home and abroad, as by law prescribed.

“My presence at today’s event, together with the Vice President of the Republic highlights the seriousness to which my government attaches to the National Identification System project,” President Akufo-Addo said.

He continued, “With my fullest endorsement, Vice President Alhaji Bawumia has ably spearheaded the technical and legal processes that have enabled the Government to decide how to proceed with the goal of achieving a National e-ID system for Ghana, which is beyond needless controversy and polemics.”

President Akufo-Addo bemoaned the proliferation of biometric systems by other government agencies that are mandated by law to access information from the National Identity Register.

Assigning the collection and custody of biometric traits to a single institution, he explained, “is safer and in line with current trends. By statute, the NIA is under obligation to ensure the accuracy, integrity, confidentiality and security of data it collects.”

Advantages of the card 

President Akufo-Addo noted that the new Ghana Card is a great improvement over the previous one, and meets all international standards required of such identity documents.

“For example, the national identity card has been enhanced to take advantage of new technologies such as tactile elements for the blind, chip embedding technology and iris capabilities in addition to taking all 10 fingerprints of an applicant,” he said.

Additionally, with a 128 kilobyte capacity, the Ghana Card will enable other stakeholders to run their applications on the national identity card. Ultimately, the card would replace the sectorial identity cards in circulation, and shall be the only card to be used in transactions where identification is required as provided by law.

“This registration exercise is also unique in the sense that it would involve the registration of ages 0-5. This is a historic opportunity for us to sanitize and rationalize birth certification in Ghana and ensure social inclusion right from birth,” President Akufo-Addo said.

Whilst congratulating Identity Management Systems Ltd (IMS), who are partnering with NIA to ensure the efficient roll-out of the NIS Project, the President reiterated the commitment of his government to supporting and enhancing the capacity of Ghanaian companies and businesses to be the giants in their respective areas of operation.

President Akufo-Addo reminded the stakeholders to ensure the integrity, security and confidentiality of identity data collected.

“It is important that the data collected is made available only to persons or institutions authorized by law to access the data and used only for the purposes for which the data was collected,” he added.