A new legislative instrument (LI) to give the necessary legal backing for the full-scale implementation of the National Identification Programme is expected to be sent to Parliament for deliberation and passage.
“The National ID system has delayed. The law under which the ID system could commence turned out to be outlawed and so a new Legislative Instrument (L. I.), which is ready, will be sent to Parliament when they resume to be passed, then we can quick start the ID programme.
When the L. I. is submitted to parliament, after the 21 days it can become law and set the stage right for the ID system to take off,” President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said.
He was speaking at a meeting with the media at the Flagstaff House, to discuss the performance of his administration after a year in office.
The President maintained that government is poised to digitize all activities of state institutions and quasi-government agencies for maximum results.
The last time the issue of why the National ID programme had not taken off in October 2017, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia announced that government will commence the National Identification registration exercise in November 2017 which was a month departure from an earlier announcement by the National Identification Authority (NIA), scheduling the exercise to start on September 15, 2017.
Dr. Bawumia at the time during the launch of a training programme for National Service Personnel into the National Communications Authority (NCA) also explained that the change in date is due to a decision to first complete the National Addressing System, which is critical input in gathering of data for the National ID exercise.
“By November God willing, the next bit of digitization will be the National ID Card. That is very critical, and we are hoping to try the addressing thing launched before the National ID, so that when you come to register for the National ID, we will have your address which will be inserted in there.
The NIA, after issuing its first card, christened Ghana card to the President in September 2017, explained that, the exercise will start with the security agencies, schools, banks and the inhabitants of the Greater Accra Region.
The Central, Western and Brong Ahafo regions, based on the National Identification Authority’s (NIA) plan, will be the first few regions to be covered.
According to the NIA, Ghanaians resident abroad will not be left out of the registration process as the opportunity will be given to them to register for the card at a fee wherever they are.
The new identification system was an outcome of a private public partnership with the Margins Group which has been tasked to print the new ID cards, which is said to be the most secured Identification card with about 14 international security features with a multi-purpose function.
Another new feature of the card is the passport and ECOWAS logos on it, which allow it to be used in place of a passport across ECOWAS member countries.
The new ID card is expected to have a lifespan of 10 years after which it will be renewable at a fee to be determined by the Authority.
