Scores of Ghanaians continue to face challenges in the acquisition of birth certificates to join the security services, schools, and to also use to acquire passports, and in recent times Ghana Card.
Until the recent extension of the deadline for re-registration of SIM cards, of which possession of the Ghana Card is a pre-requisite, the number of applicants for the birth certificates was excessive.
The challenges have given rise to the activities of middlemen, otherwise called ‘Goro boys’, who are visibly operating at the premises of the head office of the Births and Deaths Registry in Accra.
Stressed applicants who spoke to DAILY GUIDE said though they had applied for birth certificates for over two months, they are yet to get them.
“I don’t know when I will get this birth certificate; I have been here so many times without getting it. I am always told it has to be signed, but I don’t know how long it takes for this to be signed,” a frustrated gentleman complained.
A gentleman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he had helped people obtain birth certificates for about five years, charging fees based on his discretion.
“I charge any amount above GH¢150.00, depending on the person I am dealing with and the time he or she needs it. I don’t care what happens; the only thing is for me to be able to help people get it. There are no jobs now, and once I am not going to steal, it’s better,” he said.
A gentleman, who had already acquired a birth certificate also said, “I had to pay as much as GH¢500.00 to be able to acquire a birth certificate because I needed it urgently, I had to pay to whoever will assist me to get it, whether he is a staff at the place or not. The one who assisted me is not a staff though, but this has to end, because how many people can pay such an amount of money?”
Our checks revealed that although birth certificates could be obtained from the various municipal and district assemblies across the country, most applicants prefer the head office in Accra to the districts, with the hope of acquiring it on time.
DAILY GUIDE’s efforts to get some responses from the Director of the Births and Deaths Registry on the issues did not yield dividends.
The general administration asked the paper to officially write to the registrar. The paper in a letter addressed to the registrar on Tuesday, March 17, 2022, was acknowledged on Monday, March 21, 2022, after the reporter had followed up on three occasions.
Upon a visit to the head office, one of the deputy directors who agreed to respond to the concerns raised by the public on Wednesday, March 23, 2022, declined to comment in the end.
According to her, the acting director, in a discussion on the issues, has agreed to speak to the matter at the appropriate time.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah