Prof Ken Attafuah
The National Identification Authority (NIA) has denied claims that it is accepting the Voter identification (ID) card as one of the mandatory registration identity documents in the ongoing registration for the Ghana Card at Adentan Municipality in Accra.
Addressing delegates at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Congress on Saturday in Accra, General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, said residents in the Adentan Municipality were submitting the Voter ID card for identification and registration for the Ghana Card.
But a statement signed and issued in Accra by Francis Palmdeti, Head of Corporate Affairs, NIA, said the assertion by Mr Nketia was untrue stating that by law the Voter ID card was not one of the mandatory registration documents and it was not being accepted by NIA registration officials as proof of citizenship or eligibility to register.
The statement said the NIA’s position was in strict compliance with section 3 of the National Identity Register (Amendment) Act, 2017 (Act 950), which specifies the mandatory identity documents for registration as a birth certificate, a passport and certificate of acquired citizenship.
It stated that the only alternative under the law was that a Ghanaian who has none of stated documents could have one relative who has registered and been issued with the Ghana Card vouch for him or her as a Ghanaian, or in the absence of a relative, have two Ghanaians issued with the Ghana Card vouch that they know him or her to be a Ghanaian.
The statement said that the NIA registration officials have been trained and instructed to strictly comply with this statutory provision, adding that any acceptance of the Voter ID card as one of the mandatory registration documents and eligibility to register for the Ghana Card would constitute a violation of section 3 of Act 950, and any person found to have done so would be made to face the law.
It said in order to integrate and harmonise the National Identity Register with the databases of other cognate institutions in the country, the law requires all applicants for registration for the Ghana Card to present all valid ID cards in their possession including the ones issued by the Electoral Commission (EC), National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Ghana Revenue Authority, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and Tax Identification Number (TIN).
The statement said it was probable that Mr Nketia was confusing the mandatory registration documents with the requirement for applicants to present other ID cards for database integration and harmonisation.
Under Act 950, the statement explained that ID cards issued by the EC, NHIA, SSNIT, DVLA, among others are not registration documents and do not make one eligible to register for the Ghana Card.
Without a birth certificate, a passport or a certificate of acquired citizenship, or being vouched for in accordance with section 3 of Act 950, the statement said an applicant would not be eligible for registration.
BY TIMES REPORTER
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS