All is now set for the National Identification Authority (NIA), to commence the registration and issuing of Ghana Cards to people in the Ashanti Region.

The four-week exercise would start on Wednesday, December 11, 2019, and end on January 08, 2020.

A total of 833 registration centers, have been set up for the exercise and these centres would be opened from 0700 hours to 1700 hours, each day, except on Sundays and statutory public holidays.

Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, Executive Secretary of the NIA, said about 2,811,299 people, from age 15 upwards, who are Ghanaians residing in the region, are expected to be captured.

He was addressing journalists at a press briefing in Kumasi.

The mass registration exercise, started in April, this year and has so far been conducted in 11 out of the 16 regions. These are; the Greater Accra, Volta, Oti, Northern, Savannah, North-East, Upper East, Upper West, Bono, Bono-East and Ahafo.

Prof. Attafuah announced that 4,857,845 Ghanaians had been registered for the Cards. “NIA has also printed cards for 4,291,840 qualified Ghanaians out of which 2,996,478, have already been issued with the cards.”

The registration is free of charge – all that an individual needs doing is to show up at the registration center with a genuine birth certificate, valid passport, Ghana Post Digital Residential Address or a valid certificate of acquired citizenship.

If one does not have any of the mandatory identity documents, a relative who has been issued with a Ghana card, can vouch under oath for the person to acquire a card.

If none of one’s relatives is available, two persons, having Ghana cards including chiefs, practicing or retired educationists (head-teacher, principal), serving or retired magistrates, and members of the security services, can guarantee for them.

Other guarantors include clergymen, chief Imams, licensed professionals such as medical doctors, nurses, lawyers, engineers and surveyors.

Prof. Attafuah said the Authority now had the necessary equipment to accomplish its set target of capturing every eligible Ghanaian.

He assured that all those who were not covered in the regions, already visited, would be registered through the NIA’s permanent offices.