The National Identification Authority (NIA) has said residents of the Accra West Zone who were unable to register in the mass registration exercise, which ended in their area on Saturday, May 26, can register at the Regional and District Offices it will soon set up.

A statement issued by the Authority, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, on Saturday, explained that it was unable to grant the request to extend the duration of the mass registration exercise in the said Zone because "doing so will adversely affect the published national roll-out strategy".

Many residents who could not register in the exercise, which began on Monday, April 29, in separate interviews, expressed their anguish about the futile efforts they had made, some over days, in their bid to get their names on the national electronic register.

They commonly blamed the situation on inadequate registration centres resulting in ever present long queues, the circumvention of the process by public officers, especially assembly members, slow registration officers, uncooperative ineligible applicants, and intermittent technical challenges.

They urged the NIA to correct those anomalies to minimise the associated frustration on residents of the Accra East Zone, which is the next in line.

Meanwhile, the statement, signed by Mr Francis Palmdetti, the Head of Corporate Affairs, urged the registered residents who were yet to receive their Ghana Cards to collect them at some designated collection points in the Municipalities.

The collection points would be in the following areas:

1. Ga South (Bortianor, Ngleshie, Amanfro)

2. Ga South (Weija, Gbawe, Domeabra/Obom)

3. Ga Central (Anyaa, Sowutuom)

4. Ga West (Trobu, Amasaman)

5. Ga North

6. Okaikoi South,

7. Okaikoi Central

8. Okaikoi North

9. Ablekuma South,

10. Ablekuma Central

11. Ablekuma West

12. Ablekuma North

13. Ashiedu Keteke

It assured them that they would be informed via text messages, phone calls, and radio and television announcements about their designated Ghana Card collection points.

The mass registration exercise, which would capture eligible Ghanaians from age 15, would close in the Greater Accra Region on Saturday, July 6.

An applicant must provide either a genuine birth certificate or a valid Ghanaian Passport; or a valid certificate of acquired citizenship, with a Ghana Post Digital Address Code.

Additionally, information on the applicant’s National Health Insurance Card, Voter Identification Card, Driver’s License and SSNIT Biometric Card are captured.

Applicants without birth certificates and passports are required to present a relative, who has been issued with the Ghana Card to vouch for them under an Oath.

Otherwise, two members of the community known to him or her, having the Card, and are either practising or retired professionals can vouch for the applicants under Oath.

These must be a principal, a headteacher, a gazetted chief, a retired magistrate or a judge.

A medical doctor, a nurse, a lawyer and other prominent personalities in the society could also be a voucher.

The registration onto the electronic National Identity Register would integrate and harmonise existing identification registers to become the foremost source of an identification system in Ghana.

It would also eliminate duplication of registers and the waste of national resources by other government agencies to upgrade their national information systems.

Consequently, Ghanaians, both home and abroad, would have a biometric verification service, while all user agencies, including the Bank of Ghana, Social Security and National Insurance Trust, National Health Insurance Authority and Ghana Revenue Authority could benefit from it.

The exercise would be extended to the other regions, following its close in Greater Accra.

Volta and Oti regions would have their turns from July 15 to August 1; Northern, Savannah and North East regions - August 13 to September 2; while the Upper East and Upper West regions would have their turn from September 12 to 29.

Others are Bono, Bono East and Ahafo - October 10 – 30; Western Region and Western North - November 11 to December 2; Ashanti Region from December 10 to January 31, 2020.

The rest are Eastern Region - February 12 - March 4; and Central Region - March 13-31.

The exercise starts at 0800 and ends at 1700 but public holidays are excluded.

Eighty-five per cent of Ghanaians are expected to be captured at the end of the exercise. Younger persons would be registered after the main exercise.