Ghana Card now operational for business transactions and others

 

Adnan Adams Mohammed

 

The National Identification Authority (NIA) announced that the Ghana Card is operational and can be used to make business transactions and other identification purposes globally.

 

Professor Ken Attafuah, Chief Executive of the Authority indicated that the NIA is still in talks with some key entities to come on board and fully accept the new card.

 

The Ghana Card is a national identity card that is issued by the Ghanaian authorities to Ghanaian citizens, both resident and non-resident, and legally and permanently foreign national residents. It is proof of identity, citizenship and residence of the holder.

 

"In the first week of October, the technical system will be ready and the service can now happen. We are having conversations with Bank of Ghana and the Ministry of Communications to ensure the players in the telco industry all come on board," he said.

 

Although the NIA is done with the registration exercise, Prof Attafuah said the Authority will soon establish permanent regional, municipal, and district offices to allow persons who could not register during the mop-up exercise to do so.

 

“Officials at the offices will also move into the communities to register people while maintaining a presence at the offices so people can walk in and register.

 

“We are registering everyone, from zero to infinity. We will be working with the Birth and Death Registry so that when the children turn 18 we would know automatically. This will also allow 'football age' to be a thing of the past," he noted.

 

The NIA CEO said the Ghana Card has become a “must-have” ID card because “one would be excluding himself socially, economically, and politically without the card."