NIA Begins Issuance of Ghana Card

By Yaw Kyei

The National Identification Authority, yesterday, began the issuance of the National Identification Card, otherwise known as the Ghana Card, and distributed the cards to some staff of the Jubilee House.

This was after the date for the official rollout of the exercise had been postponed on several occasions due to technical glitches.

The process began seamlessly at the Presidency; however, none of the officials present was willing to speak to the media.

The NIA has come under public scrutiny over the long delay of the project, the contract amount compared to similar projects in other countries, among many other issues.

According to the Executive Secretary of the Authority, Prof. Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah,, the entire project, which includes the issuance of a 148-kilobyte capacity chip and multipurpose Ghana Card, will cost $293 million.

Of the total amount, he said $124 million would be charged to the Ghanaian taxpayer while the remaining $169 million would be borne by Identity Management System (IMS), a subsidiary of Margins Group.

He has dismissed claims that the Ghana Card cost US$1.2 billion.

The exercise is expected to continue today at the Jubilee House, the House of Parliament, and other state institutions.

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