The National Identification Authority (NIA) says as at July 13, 2022 it has registered over 16.9 million Ghanaians for the Ghana card.
Out of the registered members, over 16.7 million cards have so far been printed.
“We have as at 13 July, registered 16,936,934 Ghanaians [16 years and above] onto the national identity register, we have printed the cards of 16,743,832 Ghanaians,” Prof Attafuah said on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday, 19 July, 2022.
“We have issued 16,674,131. As at 13th July, we had uncollected cards of 895,140. It is important to contrast this with the situation before February 2017 where only 4,554,520 Ghanaians have been registered between July 2008 and February 2017 and only 2,719,425 cards had been printed and 900,000 cards had been issued between 2008 and 2017 February,” the Executive Secretary of the NIA, Prof Kenneth Agyeman Attafuah disclosed this on Accra based media outlet, Asaase Radio.
He was said that some persons have resorted to obtaining police statement to get their card reprinted although they have already been registered.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) has directed airlines to recognise Ghana Card as an international travelling identity document, otherwise called e-passport for all Ghanaian card holders travelling to Ghana.
The move means that Ghanaians in the diaspora, who hitherto needed a Ghanaian passport and a visa to travel back home, will now be able to use their Ghana Card to travel back to Ghana without a visa.
The GACL’s notification asked all airports and international airlines operating to Ghana to allow holders of the Ghana Card to board flights to Ghana, following the card’s recognition by ICAO as an international Machine Readable Travel Document.
The latest step by the GACL paves the way for airports and airlines to start recognising the Ghana Card as an e-passport.
By Vincent Kubi