Sunyani (B/A), May 03, GNA - The national identification exercise kick-started in Brong Ahafo on Tuesday with an appeal to residents to ensure they are registered.

Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye Marfo, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, made the appeal after he had registered, explaining that the holder of the Identification Card would benefit in so many ways and advised all to patronize the exercise.

Officials of the National Identification Authority (NIA) had called on Mr Nyamekye Marfo to officially inform him of the commencement of the exercise in the region. Both Ghanaians and naturalized foreigners resident in the region would be registered.

The Regional Minister said the procurement of the National Identification Card would help to adequately identify the holder any time, anywhere, as well as facilitate any additional assistance the holder may need.

Mr Nyamekye Marfo said the government was doing everything possible to support the NIA for a successful exercise to enhance socio-economic programmes as well as individual citizens in all fields of endeavour. Ms Bertha Dzeble, Head of Public Affairs of the NIA, explained that unlike in six regions where the people were covered by mass registration exercise, which begun in July 2008, Brong-Ahafo's would be done in phases.

She said residents in Greater Accra, Western, Eastern, Volta, and Ashanti Regions benefited from the mass registration exercise but lack of funds had necessitated the collection of data in phases in Brong-Ahafo.

"Originally the exercise in Brong Ahafo should have taken off in the middle of last year but we had to wait till now due to financial constraints," she said.

Ms Dzeble, but gave the assurance that the government was doing its best to get funds to sustain the national exercise. Ms Dzeble said the Sunyani Municipality and Sunyani West area had been divided into five clusters and the exercise would take about two weeks in each cluster.

She indicated that for administrative convenience NIA had opened an office in Sunyani, manned by 20 trained workers resident in Sunyani.

She said forty local workers would assist the trained ones and appealed to residents in Sunyani Municipality and Sunyani West District to cooperate with the officers for the success of the programme. 03 May 11