NIA Resumes Ghana Card Issuance

The National Identification Authority (NIA) has begun the issuance of Ghana Cards to applicants.

This follows the printing of a backlog of 541,529 cards which had been accumulated for close to a year.

In a statement last week announcing the completion of the printing, the NIA assured applicants they will access them from April 5.

They are directed to visit the District or Regional Offices where they registered for their printed cards.

Reason For Backlog
The backlog was generated as a result of a shortage of blank cards which was due to a GH¢100 million debt the NIA owed its creditors.

The backlog had been accumulated since July 2022.

In Parliament on February 28, the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori Atta said the debt had been cleared.

“I think that the main question was about the GH¢100 million to be transferred to CalBank IMS and as has been confirmed by the [Executive] Director for the NIA, we have indeed transferred the GH¢80 million and today with swift instructions the GH¢20 million has also been executed. That is the assurance we want to give that we will continue to work with the programme we have agreed with CalBank”, he told the House.

Printing of Backlog
It will be recalled that in a statement dated March 21, 2023, the NIA announced it had begun printing.

Another statement from the Authority dated March 29 said, “with focus, rigour and coherence in project management and implementation” it was able to print all the cards in 10 days.

“The staff worked fervently for ten continuous days in two shifts — day and night,” it explained.

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini