By: Adiza Bawa and Jacob Aggrey
The National Identification Authority, NIA has been accused of delays in the printing, issuance, and distribution of Ghana cards to clients.
Meanwhile, the government has limited and blocked unregistered Ghanaians from the usage of certain services for failure to register their SIMs, given that the said persons have been unable to acquire the Ghana Cards.
On the back of this, the Deputy Chairman in charge of Operations at the Electoral Commission, Samuel Tetteh is quoted to have asked the NIA to fast-track the issuance of the Ghana card. According to him, the card will be the sole identity to be used in registering voters during the 2024 general election.
These series of trends have ignited agitations among some Ghanaians who have been speaking up on the issues.
GBC News visited some parts of Accra to have an interaction with some Ghanaians handicapped over the Ghana card issue.
Most of them were not happy with the operations of the NIA both in the printing and distribution of the cards.
To most of them, the NIA has failed to plan well for the facilitation of acquisition of the cards.
According to the people GBC News spoke to, there is the need to question the sole use of the Ghana Card for verification especially come 2024 elections.
“Am not sure they planned for this thing well. Ghanaians are tired. Having to queue for a card without any money even though it will help is pointless. Government is doing it because of elections not really for the good of Ghanaians” says Nii in Adabraka
Priscilla a student of the University of Ghana handicapped, said “it’s not our fault that we don’t have the cards. We have tried our best to get it and they are giving us excuses. Even my father did his in our hometown with my mother. My mother got hers but he didn’t. So, he had to come back home. He went there again in two weeks’ time, they told him that it’s missing . So, he had to come and do it in Accra”, she lamented.
The interviewees described the decision by the Electoral Commission (EC) to remove the option of a guarantor aiding in the voting of another Ghanaian as “silly” encouraging the NIA to speed up printing of the cards.
They also advised the NIA and government to review the processes of acquiring the cards.
They encouraged the stakeholders to open up multiple centers to make the distribution easier, to save time and energy.
Kpakpo noted that, “I think after registration, everybody had a place they registered or after registering, they were supposed to take it to the centers so the people who registered at the centers will go for the cards there. Because of that, some people don’t even know where the office is. They should review their decisions. What they are deciding won’t help Ghanaians. They are doing it on behalf of Ghana not Somalia”, he questioned.
“I think it depends on the centers. It’s more like one place. If you have to do it, you have to go to the council or the GRA. They should make the place for collection and making a lot. Making it at one place is not good. They should make more centers” added Priscilla.
