Government workers are being given about a month-and-a-half to register for the National Identification Card, NIA (Ghana Card), or be denied their salaries.
A statement from the Controller and Accountant General’s Department warned that effective December 1, 2021, workers on the government of Ghana Payroll who have not registered with the NIA will NOT be paid.
The Department said it is collaborating with the NIA to have a harmonized database “to facilitate biometric and unique identification of all workers on the government payroll.
It explained that this directive is “part of the government’s efforts to deliver a speedy, secured and verified payroll service to government employees and pensioners while reducing the risk of undeserving payment or claims. By this notice, all existing and prospective government workers are to ensure they are registered with the NIA and obtain their identity numbers”.
The Ghana Card is slowly becoming a must-have under the Akufo-Addo administration, which has championed a national digitization agenda.
It is currently required for the registration of SIM cards by mobile phone users.
The National Health Insurance Authority is collaborating with the National Identification Authority to make it possible for all residents in Ghana to use the Ghana card for healthcare access.
The Ghana Card Personal Identification Number also replaced the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) of individuals issued by the Ghana Revenue Authority for tax identification purposes.
