Coronavirus: NIA Refuses To Abort Ghana Card Registration

The National Identification Authority (NIA) says it will continue with the Ghana Card registration despite the misgivings from some of its officers of the novel coronavirus.

The NIA has released guidelines for its officers in line with the government’s new directives on public gatherings to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in Ghana.

Ghana has so far recorded six cases of coronavirus.

Some NIA officers who had reached out to Citi News anonymously expressed concern about the absence of protective measures.

They say a single registration centre can be visited by 200 to 300 people a day seeking the Ghana Card.

In a statement, supervisor registration officers have been advised to ensure “appropriate queue management techniques including numbering, appointment systems to ensure that no long ques emerge at any registration centre.”

Also, no more than 25 field officers are to be at a registration centre at a given time.

In dealing with applicants, officers have been directed to take the particulars of the applicants when they arrive at the centres.

“The applicants will be called to attend the registration centre at a specified date and time on an appointment basis,” the statement explained.

Officers are also supposed to “keep a social distance of two metres when interacting with the general public.”

The iris scanners which capture biometric data are supposed to be wiped down after each applicant uses them.

Officers are also supposed to wash their hands frequently. No sanitisers

The NIA will, however, be unable to provide sanitisers for the officers on the field because of “an acute shortage.”

“The procurement department is, however, intensifying efforts to procure sanitisers for distribution to field officials,” the NIA assured.

The Ghana Card registration is currently ongoing in the Eastern Region.

Even before this statement, scores of Ghanaians were seen at NIA registration centres earlier on Monday.

Citi News visited some centres in the New Juaben North and South Municipalities where quite a number of people claimed they were not aware of the government’s new directives on public gatherings

Though officials of NIA at the New Juaben North and South Municipalities centres were not working, those at Nsawam Adoagyiri and Suhum Municipality were still registering and issuing Ghana cards to qualified applicants.

—citinewsroom