E/R: Ghana Card registration exercise suspended by NIA

The National Identification Authority (NIA) has finally suspended the Ghana Card registration exercise in the Eastern Region.

This was after two Ghanaians sued NIA, the two Emmanuel Akumatey and Kevor Mark-Oliver, they argue the mass registration exercise in the Eastern Region, where they live, “has a strong tendency in aggravating the spread of the coronavirus.”

The exercise will be suspended “pending the final determination of the application,” the NIA noted the statement.

“All staff are required to report for work and render proper accounting of registration equipment, materials and consumables in their custody to the Senior Registration Officers (SROs) with immediate effect,” the statement added.

Ghana has currently recorded 16 cases of the virus.

READ ALSO: Two Ghanaians sue NIA over ongoing registration exercise during Covid-19 outbreak

Before the suspension, the NIA, however, insisted that its decision to carry on with the Ghana Card registration exercise in the Eastern Region was not violating the directives concerning public gatherings.

This is despite reports indicating that citizens looking to register for the card were massing at some registration centres in contravention of expert advise for curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Observers also criticised the NIA for continuing with the exercise.

The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), for example, said the continuation of the registration was a breach of international and regional human rights instruments.

CHRAJ in a statement also said the NIA’s actions were a disregard of the existing World Health Organization (WHO) precautionary measures aimed at containing and combating the novel coronavirus.

The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) also complained that the continuation of the exercise defeated the precautionary measures declared by the state to combat the pandemic. 

Source: Citi newsroom