Accra, May 31, GNA - Miss Beatrice Fobia Sarpong of DONEWELL Insurance Company Limited (DICL), at Osu, became the first Ghanaian to be issued with a National Identification Card, when the Ghanacard distribution exercise began on Monday, May 30. Beaming with smiles, Ms Sarpong expressed her joy for receiving the Ghanacard.

The National Identification Authority (NIA) began the Ghanacard Distribution Exercise on a limited scale initially with identifiable public and private institutions, which were registered at their work places during the mass registration exercise in the Greater Accra Region. It will then be scaled up to cover all the registration centres in the Region on a phased approach. After the Greater Accra Region, the exercise would then be extended to the other regions beginning with Ashanti, followed by Central, Western, Eastern, Volta, Brong-Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and West in that order. At the end of the two-day exercise at DONEWELL, 36 staff received their Ghanacard. DICL registered 88 staff members during the mass registration exercise and so far 36 of them had received their ID cards. The others, who did not get their cards, were due to transfers and the inability of NIA to identify some members of the Osu community who participated in the registration exercise at the office. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, Mr Collins Preko-Nyarko, Human Resource Manager, in-charge of Administration at DICL, said it was a special arrangement between NIA and DICL for their Staff to be registered at their work place to save time and avoid difficulties that accompanied the registration exercise.

Mr Ivan Michael Srigboh-Afenu, Verification Officer of NIA at Osu, said the turn out of recipients on the first day was encouraging. He however said that there were some minor errors that came brought to their attention and explained that they were due wrong spelling and omission of names. Ms Rebecca Yaa Adomaa Yeboah, Authentication Operator of NIA said so far thumbprint and photographs of recipients had all corresponded and there were no issues with recipients being denied their true identity by the MSO scanner and the finger print machines. The NIA in a statement said for the issuance of the Ghanacard, all persons 15 years and above, who registered for the National Identification Card would have to visit their specific registration centres to collect their Ghanacard over a period to be announced later. Applicants are required to bring along the collection slip or registration receipt given to them during registration. Persons who did not receive or have misplaced their receipts should still come to the centre. However, such persons must bring the ID card(s) with which they registered earlier and will have to wait for applicants with receipts to be processed first. Every applicant must appear in person at the centre. The Ghanacard cannot be collected by proxy. Fingerprints will be taken for verification before the Ghanacard is is= sued.

Persons whose Ghanacard cannot be found should please register again at the centre. This might be due to technical problems. Persons six years and above, who could not register during the mass registration exercises can do so within this period. "Remember, persons who do not collect their Ghanacard during this period will have to come to the NIA offices later to do so," the statement added.