Tema residents want Ghana card registration process improved

Residents of Tema have expressed concerns over the national card registration process, and are calling on the National Identification Authority (NIA) to improve the process of  acquiring a Ghana card in the ongoing mass registration exercise in the area.

Some of the residents expressed worry at the slow pace of registration as they have to queue for days before they are even allowed to go through the process.

The exercise, which started in the Accra – East area of which Tema is part, on June 4, 2019 and expected to end on July 6, 2019, seeks to register Ghanaians aged 15 years and above, after which a national identification card, that would later integrate all national identification documents, is given them.

With barely a week to the end of the mass registration, a large number of residents are yet to register, as long queues were seen at some centres visited by the Ghana News Agency.

The GNA observed that about 50 persons who had gone through the manual registration process, were still in a queue at the Community 1 police station centre, to get their data captured and pictures taken.

A resident, Maame Afua said even though she was able to pass through the process after trying for about three days, her card was yet to be issued to her two weeks after registration, a situation which was preventing her from vouching for her relatives who did not have the primary requirements.

Another resident, who gave his name as Mr. Awuah said the NIA officials complained of malfunctioning machines and poor network service as some of the reasons for the slow pace of registering residents.

Mr. Awuah also added that, the registration officers were equally sluggish when filling the registration forms.

Madam Hasana Issah, another resident, said she and her friends, had tried registering for over a week, yet their turn hadn’t come. “we don’t get to register as officials either tell us the machine was not working or the internet service was down,” she said.

Nana Ama Mensah, a resident, said she tried registering at Tweedaase and Padmore centres when the mass registration commenced, but she has not been able to endure the long present queues.

She said she’s surprised all the centres did not operate at the same time to enable more residents register, but rather they had to work at one centre and subsequently move to the other.

Meanwhile, Mr. Albert Adu Ghamson, Relations Officer for Tema Central, said the registration was smooth as he denied having challenges with networks and equipment.

Mr. Ghamson added that the exercise was well coordinated because they had put in measures to ensure that queues were orderly.

Source: GNA