Call for the arrest of anyone who charges you for Ghana Card - NIA

Head of Public Relations of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Mr. Francis Palmdeti, has asked the public to disregard information about a charge of GHc5 before the issuance of the Ghana card.

Speaking to Kwabena Agyapong on Frontline on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm he said anyone who would charge the public for the registration must be arrested.

According to him, the registration for the card does not come with any cost to the registrant.

He also indicated to the host that the Oath to be sworn for persons without the needed documents at the registration centers is free.

The government he explained has taken care of the cost hence the public should not pay for any charges.

“I will encourage the public to raise an alarm when they are asked to pay for the Ghana card. Anyone charging people before they are registered should be arrested. It is illegal and criminal for anyone to charge you before you are issued with a Ghana car,” he said.

NIA about a week ago, started the mass issuance of National ID cards.

The introduction of the cards is expected to contribute to the digitisation space of Ghana.

The pilot was carried out in Adentan and Madina, suburbs of the capital, Accra.

The Ghana ID card has been touted as the all-purpose ID that contains biometric information.

The card according to authorities, will be required for accessing a host of social services including health, education, pensions, passport services and business registration.

It is also expected to bring an end to the status quo where different bodies have their different database and issue cards, some of the information contradicting one another.