Registration and issuance of the National Identification Card is expected to begin today May 28, 2018.
The National ID dubbed GhanaCard is meant to be the primary ID card that citizens will use to access all services in the country, including traveling within the West African sub-region.
According to Chief Executive Officer of the National Identification Authority, Prof. Ken Attafuah, the Authority will begin the registration and issuance process from key state agencies and institutions including the Jubilee House, Parliament and the various security agencies to register officials there.
“On Monday the 28th, the National Identification rollout will be done. It will begin at 7 am. We will have our technicians and registration officials and operators at the Jubilee House, they will be at Parliament House, they will be at the Judiciary premises, and they will be at the Security sector institutions; The Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Prisons Service and of course the Ghana Armed Forces,†he said in a radio interview.
He added that key individuals such as the country’s former Presidents Kufuor, Mahama and Rawlings, Members of the Ghana Journalists Association, among others, will be issued with the cards first before registration opens for the general public.
“We will be at the premise of these institutions and key sectors of relevant of this society, registering them and issuing the cards to them instantly…We shall also register maybe a day or two immediately after we start the Ghana Journalist Association leadership, the Ghana Bar Association and particular sectors of society that we have already engaged. The roll our strategy will be published, and everyone will have the opportunity to see where they are registering in their society.â€
The National Identification Authority in a notice to the public said the GhanaCard will be the only valid ID for application for a bank account, passport, telephone number, property acquisition, drivers license and much more.
The issuance of a National ID card is among the few key projects the government promised to execute to formalise the country’s economy.
Regional rollout process
From Greater Accra, the exercise would move to the Volta, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Brong Ahafo, Western, Ashanti, Eastern, Western and Central regions in that order.
The exercise is expected to last for two months in the Ashanti Region while one month will be spent on each of the remaining eight regions.
Prof Attafuah said the Authority estimates to complete registration of Ghanaians within one year after extending the exercise to the general public.
Registration of Ghanaians abroad
Prof. Ken Attafuah announced that approximately six months after rolling out the exercise to the general public, NIA would begin the registration of Ghanaians abroad.
He explained that the NIA intends to roll out the exercise in close collaboration with Ghanaian missions abroad and Ghanaian associations in foreign countries working through the Diasporan Affairs Office, which is part of the Office of the President.
Prof Attafuah stated that this was being done in close collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
To save cost, he said, the NIA plans to train personnel of Ghana Missions abroad and designate as registration officials of the NIA and supplement that with personnel of NIA headquarters to the extent necessary.
Registration process
Persons with the right documents who provide right answers to questions will be issued the instant Ghana Card in approximately 30 minutes. Any Ghanaian who wants to register has a duty to provide basic information and digital address code. The primary documents required are a birth certificate or a valid passport. However, existing Ghana cardholders can also use it in place of birth certificate or a valid passport.
The GhanaCard will possess peculiar features that will be difficult for individuals to duplicate.
Read Akufo Addo launches new national ID card
Below is the new GhanaCard with its unique features:
 