NIA BEGINS REGISTRATION IN ASHANTI (PAGE 3, MARCH 22, 2010)

By George Ernest Asare & Joseph Kyei-Boateng, Kumasi

THE National Identification registration is set to begin on Thursday, March 22, in the Ashanti Region, Head of the Public Affairs of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Mrs. Bertha Dzeble has disclosed.
She said the region would be grouped into four zones and that twenty-four districts in the region would be covered for a period of ten days days.
Mrs. Dzeble disclosed this to the Daily Graphic after a press conference held in Kumasi.
She said the NIA would be operating at community levels within the four zones and would begin at the Obuasi Municipality, Adansi North, Adansi South, Amansie Central, Amansie West, Amansie East, Bosomtwe Kwanwoma and the Asante Akim South Districts.
According to her, the Ejisu-Juaben Municipality, Asante Akim North Municipality, Sekyere East, Sekyere West, Kwabre, Afigya Sekyere and Ejira-Sekyeredumasi Districts were to be covered for the second phase.
The Kumasi Metropolis would comprise the third phase.
For the fourth and last phase, the Offinso Municipality, Atwima Nwabiagya, Atwima Mponua, Ahafo Ano North and the Ahafo Ano South Districts would be covered.
Mrs. Dzeble indicated that the first phase would last up to April 1, 2010.
The second phase would begin from April 10 to April 21, followed by April 30 to May 12 and May 21 up to June 2 for the third and fourth phases respectively.
She explained that Ghanaians of six years and above would be eligible to be registered under the exercise.
According to her, foreign nationals legally resident in the region with official permit from the Ghana Immigration Service and permanent foreign nationals resident in Ghana would be accepted for registration.
Some of the basic requirements for the registration would be an individual’s full name, date and place of birth, occupation, height, residential address, postal address, parental information and marital status.
She said a National Health Insurance Identity (ID) Card, Voter’s ID, Driver’s License and birth certificate, would be accepted to confirm nationality before normal registration begins.
The Head of the Public Affairs said the registration was free and that rumours of making payments before registration were false and would be treated with scorn and contempt.
She further warned that any citizen who would be found culpable of collecting monies from clients would be made to face the full rigours of the law.
The Executive Secretary of the NIA, Dr. William Ahazdi, said the NIA was set up under the Office of the President with the mandate to issue national ID cards and manage the National Identification System (NIS) in 2006 when the National Identification Act, 707 was passed by Parliament.
This he said gave the NIA the necessary legal premises on which to operate.
He added that the National Identity Registration Act 2008 (Act 750) was also passed to give authorisation for the collection of personal data and to ensure the protection of privacy and personal information of people.
To him, the general public not taking advantage of the identification exercise would render the NIA redundant.
He expressed the hope that the NIA was creating an Identification system, which was secure and safe.
The Executive Secretary explained that the national identification ID card was a good identification basis for government.
He added that it was useful for assessing social and economic services.
"After registration in the Central, Western, Volta, Eastern and Greater Accra Regions, much co-operation would be needed from those in the Ashanti Region and particularly, urban dwellers of Kumasi metropolis, where there is a larger amount of heterogeneous population" he stressed.
Dr. Ahazdi reiterated that security measures would be beefed-up in the region for the exercise.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the NIA has warned the general public against double registration in the mass registration exercise.
He also warned against extortion saying both were offences to the exercise.
Dr. Ahazdi gave the warning in an interview in Kumasi.
He said Clause 43 of the National Identity Registration Act, 2008 (Act 750) stipulated that any of the offences were liable “on summary conviction to a fine of not more than two hundred and fifty penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not more than two years or both”.
Other registration offences he added, were provision of false information or making of false statements, forgery of an identity document, wrong influences of the decision of registration officers and tampering with register used for the registration at the various centres.
He debunked rumours that one had to pay money before taken through the registration exercise.
He said the exercise would aid the efficient and effective operation of public and private sector institutions, adding that this would make their services more secure, reliable and readily accessible.
He explained that the National ID and the database of the NIA were not a replacement of existing ones operated by public institutions.
Rather, they would aid in verification and authentication of the identities of persons enrolled by the institutions.
He appealed to the media to disseminate information on the exercise to the public so as to ease the work of the NIA and to ensure the smooth-run of the registration.