A civil society group, Centre for Social Justice has called on the National Identification Authority, NIA, to suspend the ongoing mass registration and issuance of the National Identification cards in areas encountering challenges in the Greater Accra region.
According to the group, there is no point for Ghanaians to queue for a very long time and not receive their cards at the end of the day.
For the past days, many applicants had to leave their registration centres without an ID card after hours of waiting because of faulty machines and poor internet connectivity.
Speaking to Starr News, some applicants at registration centres in Chorkor say that they have been left frustrated after three(3) days of attempts to acquire the Ghana card
''To me, the whole registration process does not make sense, it's an instant thing so after taking your picture they have to give you your card. The NIA needs to attach some level of seriousness to the registration process. We waiting for some few days before getting our cards does not make sense,''an applicant noted.
Another also said: ''The queue is not moving fast, we waste time and money to get here and roughly spend the whole day without getting the card.The whole registration process is a waste of time''.
Reports indicated that registration centres around Sowutwoum had their machines and equipment working. At some centres in the Sowutwom area, some cards were printed for the applicants, unlike other areas. The internet hasn't been smooth there but they have managed to print quite a number of ID cards. The NIA officials at Sowutwoum area admitted that on Monday and Tuesday they had a little challenge but today it's quite better than the previous days.Â
In an interview with Starr News, a fellow at the Centre for Social Justice, Albert Wutogbui said the NIA should suspend centres facing challenges in the registration processÂ
''The NIA should suspend some centres facing the challenges, resolve them and give enough time to register Ghanaians over there. Suspension should be done at areas experiencing challenges. What is the point of Ghanaians waking up at dawn to queue the whole day and nothing goes on? he quizzed.
He also added that Parliament should summon the National Identification Authority, NIA to answer questions on the challenges experienced at registration centres in the Greater Accra region.
Meanwhile, the Minority in Parliament has asked the National Identification Authority to quickly rectify the challenges, if not and continue the mass registration in remote areas where connectivity is poorer, they are likely to encounter such challenges.
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