All National Identification Authority (NIA) regional offices have launched card replacement and update services, which were previously only available at the head office in Accra.
In addition, the El-Wak Stadium in Accra, which was designated as a premium service center under a temporary agreement, is now open for regular service, which is now free.
The El-Wak Service Centre, which opened on Monday, will assist users in obtaining new cards, updating personal details, and verifying and replacing lost cards.
This arrangement will remain in effect until further notice.
The NIA’s corporate affairs officer, Henry Myers-Aboagye, noted that the arrangements were made to guarantee that the head office was decongested while also improving service efficiency.
“Special arrangements put in place are always assessed and reviewed. It was after one of such reviews that management decided that services at El-Wak be made regular,” he explained.
Premium centres
According to Mr Myers-Aboagye, the country currently has two premium centers — one at the NIA Head Office and the other at CAL Bank — where services are delivered on scheduled appointments as well as for foreigners living in the country who are compelled by law to pay for the services.
In addition, another regular service center had opened near the Presbyterian Boys’ SHS at the University of Ghana Business School, Legon, increasing the total number of special registration centers in Accra to three, he added.
Following an instruction that it is the sole valid form of identity for SIM card re-registration and other commercial activities, demand for the card skyrocketed.
The situation was exacerbated by the National Communications Authority’s (NCA) March 31, 2022 deadline for SIM card re-registration. The deadline has now been extended to July 31.
To solve the issues, the NIA established new mass registration centers in February at the El-Wak and Accra Sports Stadia, the Baba Yara Stadium (Kumasi), the Aliu Mahama Stadium (Tamale), and the Ghana National Fire Service (Regional Office) in Cape Coast.
These were in addition to the 16 regional and 275 district offices that had been set up for the exercise.
In an interview, Richard Kofi Badu, Team Lead of the Accra Sports Stadium registration team, stated that the registration process has so far seen a high turnout.
He stated that the center registered roughly 300 individuals every day and that the procedure had gone smoothly since participants waited patiently for their turns after being given numbers.
“The only challenge we have had so far is technical; but when it happens, we do our best to resolve the hitch quickly,” Mr. Badu said.
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SOURCE: GRAPHICONLINE
