Tema residents want Ghana card registration process improved

Tema, June 28, GNA - Residents of Tema have called on the National Identification Authority (NIA) to improve the process of acquiring a ‘Ghana card’ in the ongoing mass registration exercise in the area.

Some of the residents expressed worry at the slow pace of registration as they have to queue for days before they are even allowed to go through the process.

The exercise, which started in the Accra East area of which Tema was part on June 4, 2019 and expected to end on July 6, 2019, seeks to register Ghanaians aged 15 years and above and issue them a national identification card that could consolidate all national identification documents.

With barely a week to the end of the mass registration, a large number of residents were yet to register as long queues were seen at some centres visited by the Ghana News Agency.

The GNA observed that about 50 persons who had gone through the manual registration were in a queue at the Community One Police station centre to get their data captured and pictures taken.

A resident, Maame Afua said even though she was able to pass through the process after trying for about three days, her card was yet to be issued to her two weeks after registration, a situation which was preventing her from vouching for her relatives who did not have the primary requirements.

A registrant, who gave his name as Mr Awuah said the NIA officials complained of malfunctioning machines and poor network service as some of the reasons for the slow pace of registering residents.

Mr Awuah however added that the registration officers were equally sluggish when filling the registration forms.

Madam Hasana Issah, another resident, said she together with her friends had tried registering for over a week as they queued day in and day out but “we don’t get to register as officials either tell us the machine was not working or the internet service was down”.   

Nana Ama Mensah, said she tried registering at Tweedaase and Padmore centres when the mass registration commenced but she had not been able endure the long ever present queues because she had to go to work.    

Nana Mensah wondered why all the centres did not operate at the same time to enable more residents to register but rather a set of equipment were assigned to two centres and therefore they had to work at one centre and subsequently move to the other.

Meanwhile, Mr Albert Adu Ghamson, Relations Officer for Tema Central, said the registration was smooth as he denied having challenges with networks and equipment.

Mr Ghamson added that the exercise was well coordinated because they had put in measures to ensure that queues were orderly.

GNA

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