Dear Editor,

The National Identification Card otherwise known as the ‘Ghana card’ is supposed to be necessity and not luxury. Every Ghanaian is entitled to it, hence the authority charged to produce the cards must treat it as a public service.

The card, in my opinion, is being treated as a scarce commodity with the National Identification Authority (NIA) acting as private enterprise other than a state institution.

Apart from the challenges citizens had to endure in registering for the card, issuance of the card had delayed until recently when the NIA decided to release them.

Early this week, I overheard the NIA boss saying the authority intends to introduce a “premium service” for individuals who are unable to register for the card during the mass registration.

Per the arrangement, the service would be available after December 2020 where individuals or institutions would have to pay between GH¢ 100.00 and GH¢ 250.00 to acquire the card.

This announcement got me thinking; why should there be a ‘premium’ on a Ghana card? With this, the authority seems to be aiming at making profit which, I think, should not be the case. 

I am aware a good number of citizens do not have the card but how many of them can pay this amount after December? Does the NIA intend to treat the Ghana card as a passport or driver’s licence?

I believe the authority must be thinking of making the card more accessible to the public even after the mass registration, and should not be thinking of making profit.

Citizens do not have to spend that much to acquire a Ghana card. We have had a fair share of institutions that have ‘bullied’ us well enough in this regard. The NIA must not join them.

Kakra Ofori

Mampong