Media Relations Officer of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Dora Badu Owusu Adoma has tasked the public to report officers who take money from them in the registration process for the Ghana Card.

She explained that the registration process for the Ghana Card is free at all district and regional offices of the NIA.

“You don’t need to pay money to anyone at any of our district and regional offices because the registration process is free. File a complaint against any of our officers who demand money from you and the appropriate sanctions will be taken against them.”

In an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, Dora Badu Owusu Adoma highlighted that the only time that one is charged for their services “is when you go in for our premium service. This service is only carried out at our head office.”

According to her, it takes between 25 to 35 minutes for one to complete the registration process for the Ghana Card, and attributed the delays in the registration process to the large numbers turning up at registration centers.

“We also suffer some intermittent network challenges and that also causes delay in the registration process.”

The National Identification Authority has been carrying out a nationwide registration to have a biometric database of all Ghanaians above the age of 18.

However, the process has been fraught with challenges such as long winding queues at inadequate registration centres, people not getting their cards years and months after having stood in the long queues for several days, people having to allegedly pay bribes to registration officials to avoid the queue, among other challenges.

The Ghana Card is a national Identity card that is issued by the Ghanaian authorities to Ghanaian citizens – both resident and non-resident, and legally and permanently resident foreign nationals. It is proof of identity, citizenship and residence of the holder.