1,510 registration workstations nationwide - NIA

Kumasi, Aug. 23, GNA - The National Identification Authority (NIA) has created 1,510 mobile registration workstations nationwide for the smooth take- off of the national identification card project.

Professor Ernest Dumor, Executive Secretary of NIA, said the operational machines for the workstations were under construction and that as soon as they were ready and various tests made by technical specialists on them, the registration would commence.

He was interacting with the media on the registration process of the identification project in Kumasi on Tuesday.

The Executive Secretary emphasised that all the necessary facilities and resources for the programme were in place and what the Authority was only waiting for the machines.

Prof Dumor said an estimated 100 million dollars had so far been sunk into the project, stressing that part of the money had gone into the construction of data centres, technical providers, purchasing of vehicles and office equipment, payment of staff and other expenses. He pointed out that the project was being funded by the Ghana government and that the Authority had not gone for money from any donor organization, saying the identity cards would be the property of the government.

"The NIA will submit various bills including data capture registration protection of personal information, all aimed at providing identity cards, which will be recognized, respected and be useful to holders and user agencies", he said.

Prof Dumor called for co-operation from all Ghanaians at all levels, adding that the NIA was going all over the country for a successful project for the nation.

He said the Authority had deployed 450 power generators to be used at the workstations for effective functioning of its machines. Miss Bertha Dzeble, Information and Gender Manager of the NIA, said registration of people would be the provision of text and biometric information.

She said people who would turn up to register would be asked to provide all the necessary proof about themselves at the registration centres before they would be registered.