ACI Francis Palmdeti
The National Identification Authority (NIA) has endorsed the action of a registration supervisor when he spotted a staff engaging in an illegality.
The authority’s endorsement is in reaction to the arrest of a data entry staff of the NIA after the anomaly was spotted by a registration supervisor.
According to the Corporate Affairs Director of the NIA ACII Francis Palmdeti, in the morning of Monday, 6th May, 2019, the NIA supervisor responsible for the Abossey Okai Central Mosque registration centre arrived for duty and met Mr Timothy Wuni filling out a registration form which was not part of his assigned responsibilities at the centre.
He said his assignment was the operation of a Mobile Registration Workstation (MRW) which is used in capturing an applicant’s personal data. Suspicious of Wuni’s conduct, the supervisor investigated the matter and promptly reported his findings to the police who duly effected his arrest; the police are still investigating the case.
Continuing, he said “all NIA officials were warned during training about the consequences of engaging in any acts of criminality,” adding that “officials were also instructed to promptly report any acts of criminality they may come across in the line of duty to the police”.
Continuing with his narration about Timothy Wuni’s conduct he said that the equipment found in the said private residence belongs to the NIA.
He however explained that the equipment is referred to as a Mobile Registration Workstation used in capturing personal information of eligible applicants. He was quick to add that the MRW on its own cannot be used to register and issue cards to an applicant.
Before a Ghana Card is issued, an applicant must go through an elaborate process preceded with an interview by a registration official who then assists him or her to fill an application form with the required personal details. This is then followed by the keying in of the personal details of the applicant from the completed application form including the scanning of additional documents.
Applicant’s biometric data finger prints among others is also captured by the MRW operator after which a slip specifying the information captured is given to the applicant to confirm accuracy of captured data before the card is printed out.
“The said MRW equipment is in the custody of the police and the NIA will cooperate and assist the police in their investigations. The NIA will not shield any official who engages in crime. The general public should also not shield NIA staff members who engage in any kind of corrupt practice or crime.
“The integrity of the National Identification System is intact, and the authority will continue to ensure that the information captured into the National Identity Register will be protected from any kind of unauthorized access,” the authority stated.
By A.R. Gomda