The National Identification Authority (NIA) has apologized for its failure to ensure a smooth first day Ghana card registration exercise in the Northern Region.
The first day of the Ghana card registration exercise in the Northern Region was hampered by logistical challenges as some applicants who visited the centres in the region to register were asked to come the next day.
But in a statement, the Authority admitted that the challenges that plagued the transportation of its logistics are to blame for the development.
It quickly added that the challenges have been tackled for a smooth registration exercise.
“The National Identification Authority (NIA) apologizes to residents of Tamale, Nalerugu, Damango as well as other communities in the three northern regions who went to our registration centres on the first day only to experience a slow start to the mass registration exercise.”
“Despite prior arrangements, the NIA encountered challenges in transporting some personnel and logistics from Accra to the three regions, which affected the smooth start of the registration exercise”, it added.
The NIA also gave assurances that these initial hitches will not undermine its commitment of having all residents in the region to fully register for the Ghana card.
“We are happy to inform members of the general public that the challenges have been resolved; as personnel have now arrived at their respective districts and centres and the remaining logistics have also been airlifted by the Ghana Airforce to Tamale for distribution to various districts and registration points.”
“Prospective applicants for registration for the Ghana Card in the Northern, Savannah and North East regions should be assured that their ability to register for the Ghana card will not be undermined by the slow start as the registration centres will operate at their optimum.”
Apart from the late arrival of equipment, the residents complained that there was a problem with the coding of the homes.
According to the people, the name of the district in the system was saved as Tamale Sanguli, and refused to register due to the wrong name of the district.
The registration process for the National Identification Card, also known as Ghana Card, has been fraught with several challenges since it started in April.