Address challenges facing Ghana Card registration

Applicants of the National Identification Card in the Kasoa enclave have to wait for three or more days before completing the process of registration, due to the slow nature of the procedure.

They are, therefore, calling on authorities to, as a matter of urgency address the situation which has made it impossible for them to go about their normal duties.

When the Ghanaian Times visited the Ngleshie Amanfro Community Library Centre at about 10am, more than 70 persons were spotted in a queue, waiting for their turn to be registered.

They complained about the frustration they go through as they wait for their turn to be attended to.

One Suwaiba Karimu told the Ghanaian Times that she had been at the centre for the fourth time in an effort to get registered but all to no avail.

“I have been coming here since Friday dawn and all I hear is the same story. They keep telling us the network is slow. I am a trader and I have not been able to go to the market to continue with my business because of this problem. I hope I am able to get it today though the queue is not moving as fast as I want it to,” she lamented.

Mr Alex Yeboah, a 34-year old consultant, expressed disappointment at the National Identification Authority (NIA) for not addressing the problem since it started when the registration begun.

He said the authority must consider extending the date for the registration because they are to blame for the delay of the process adding that the situation was affecting productivity since he is skipping work to get registered but to not avail.

At about 11:30am when the Ghanaian Times got to the Gospel Healing Church Centre, Galilea, more than a 100 applicants were spotted waiting patiently to go through the registration procedure.

They also complained of the slow nature of the process, saying they have been showing up at the centre for days now without making any headway.

The Ghanaian Times got to the Galilea M/A Primary School at about 12:23pm and found officials busily attending to impatient applicants who were also expressing their frustration over the time being wasted without being able to go through the registration process successfully.

A 42-year-old Kwame Agyeman told the paper that he arrived at the centre at about 2am and still had not been attended to.

He revealed that yesterday was his third day of attempting to get registered but to no avail, adding that the situation was affecting his job.

Officials of the NIA centres the Ghanaian Times visited refused to comment on the matter but officials at the Gospel Healing Church centre who pleaded anonymity said the delay was caused by data connectivity challenges.

At Bortianor, Believers International School was a centre of registration with a turn up of about 50 people in a tensed atmosphere of agitated participants over the fact that the process has not began when they had been on time since 1am, reports David Nyanor Takyi.

The NIA officials however refused to give any comment about the ongoing process.

When the Ghanaian Times interacted with a pregnant woman who did not disclose her name, she said she came to the centre as early as 2am and was yet to be registered although she has all her needed requirements due to poor network in the registration process.

A registered man interacting with the Ghanaian Times over the process claimed it took him six days in order to get the Ghana card.

He said he had to leave his place of work in order to follow up the process to ensure that he was duly registered.

An agitated participant Harriet Takyi on her part said the officers refused to report back to work after they went on break.

“They don’t report early, and when they go on break, they don’t return, you’ll have to come back tomorrow morning and after this the network is also poor so the process is always slow and delays,” she said.

At Odorkor, the Apostolic Church of Christ, Central Assembly the process however was commendable, and had a turnup of about 150 people who had registered for the Ghana card.

Mr James Baidoo who came 5am in the morning and was almost done and waiting to take his card, in an interaction said the process in the area was very smooth and didn’t take much of his time.

He said the process was done in an orderly manner and the NIA personnel were always on time to start the registration.

“I’ll say the process here was operated in an orderly manner and when I came I just followed the process smoothly and I’m almost done.”

Mr Joseph Tetteh said the process was effective and people could be given the card on that same day although the network had its troubles sometimes.

“The place is in order, the officials are on time and the environment is conducive enough to stay and wait until it was your turn,” he said.

The situation was different at the St Andrews Anglican Church in Kaneshie, with participants complaining about the network and the operating systems.

Speaking with Theophilus a driver claimed to have been trying to register since last week Wednesday but is yet to complete the process.

“This is ruining my business because I have been here for a long time and I keep coming here but yet I have not been able to receive the card because all the machines here are not working well.”

Speaking with Michael Brobbey, a student narrating the happenings said he has been there since last week Friday, and is yet to get the card.

BY RAISSA SAMBOU