GENERAL OVERVIEW OF NIA  

The National Identification Authority (NIA) of the Ga West Municipality was established in November 2021 to help develop and manage a National Identification System (NIS) and issue national ID cards to the Ghanaian populace and foreign nationals legally and permanently resident in the Municipality. NIA’s operations were given the legal grounding by passing the NIA Act, 2006 (Act 707) and the National Identity Register Act, 2008 (Act 750).

NIA’s mandate and its effects on Citizens of the Municipality

The general mandate of the National Identification Authority (NIA) is to create, maintain, provide and promote the use of national identity cards in order to advance economic, political and social activities in the Ga West Municipality.  Therefore, Municipal office is to ensure that eligible applicants who have successfully been captured onto the NIS during the mass registration exercise but have not received their cards get their cards. Again, all unregistered Ghanaian citizens and foreign nationals legally and permanently resident in the municipality have their personal data captured onto the National Identification System (NIS) and have their Ghana card issued out to them amidst upholding the highest standards of the authority in the municipality. To achieve this, the office isconsistently engaged in educating and sensitizing the populace in the municipality on the NIS, its purpose, uses and more importantly the benefits of the Ghana card. Eligibility criteria in terms of the major documents needed, who can or cannot vouch for an applicant and so forth are being made clear to them.

Consequently, thousands of new eligible Ghanaian citizens in the Ga West municipality have had their personal data accurately and successfully captured onto the NIS and issued with the Ghana card within the period. Again, thousands of applicants who have already been enrolled during the mass registration have had their cards issued out to them successfully. This enabled them register their SIM cards within the required time for the SIM registrations. The accurate capturing of the personal data of the eligible citizens in the municipality through strict adherence to international standards is actually relieving them of the challenges replete with security, acquisition of passport and driving license, and registration of their voter cards in the municipality. Again, the concerns of most citizens in the municipality about the short falls in public services delivery and human development activities such as registration of marriages, births and deaths, social security and the national Health Insurance have become so easy with the Ghana cards.    

Specific Activities of NIA in the Municipality

ENROLMENT OR NEW REGISTRATION.

Involves the capturing onto the NIS the personal data of eligible applicants who have not yet been captured.

Eligibility criteria/Requirement

Ghana Post Digital Address (Mandatory attachment to all the MR  

UPDATE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION.  

Applicants requesting the Update of Personal Information Service must observe the following guidelines:

1. Applicants need to complete and sign an electronic Update Request Form at the District Office;

2. Any update, which changes the information printed on the face of the Ghana Card already issued to an applicant, will attract a fee of Ghc35.00. The list of updates that attract a fee of Ghc30.00 is as follows:

a. Change or Correction of Applicant’s Name

b. Change or Correction of the order of Applicant’s Name

c. Correction or Addition of Applicant’s Previous Name or Maiden Name

d. Correction of Applicant’s Date of Birth

e. Change or Correction of the Nationality of Applicant

f. Correction of Applicant’s Gender

g. Change or Correction of Applicant’s Height

3. All other updates, which do not result in the printing of a new Ghana Card for an applicant, are FREE of charge. The list of free updates is as follows:

a. Change or Correction of Residential Address

b. Change or Correction of Digital Address Code

c. Change or Addition of Postal Address

d. Correction of Hometown details

e. Correction of Place of Birth details

f. Addition or Change of telephone numbers and/or email address

g. Change of Marital Status

h. Addition or Change of Government IDs e.g. Voter ID Card, SSNIT Card, NHIS Card, etc.

i. Change of Disability Status

j. Change or Addition of details of Spouse

k. Change of Next-of-Kin details

l. Correction of details of Parents

m. Change of Level of Education

n. Change of Occupation

o. Change or Correction of color of hair and/or eyes

4. The Ghc35.00 fee for all fee-paying update services must be made with either the:

a. CalBank Mobile Banking Platform with short code *771#; or

b. CalBank Online Mobile App; or

c. At a CalBank Branch Office

NB – The Ga West office will not accept cash payments for the update service.

5. All applicants for the update service will be required to provide the reason for the update and must support the request with evidence. Examples of the documents required to update personal information are as follows:

a. Correction of Name/Correction of spelling or order of Name – Birth Certificate or passport used during registration for the Ghana Card that shows the correct name of the applicant.

b. Change of Name – Gazette Notification confirming applicant’s Name Change (affidavits will not be accepted).

c. Correction of Date of Birth – A Birth Certificate or Ghana Passport used by the applicant during registration for his/her Ghana Card.

NB – NIA will not change an applicant’s date of birth but will only correct the date of birth if it was wrongly captured during registration for the Ghana Card.

d. Addition of or change of details of Institutional IDs – Document/ID from the relevant institution confirming the details.

e. Correction of names of father and/or mother – A document that existed before the applicant’s registration for the Ghana Card and confirms the names of the parents e.g. a Birth Certificate or a Marriage Certificate of the applicant.

f. Change from a foreign nationality to Ghanaian (foreigners) – A Certificate of Naturalization, an Oath of Allegiance document, and the Non-Citizen Ghana Card of the applicant.

g. Change from foreign nationality to Ghanaian (dual citizens) – A Birth Certificate that confirms the nationality of the applicant, a Dual-Citizenship Card if the applicant has one, and a valid Ghana Passport if the applicant has one.

h. Change of occupation – documentary evidence supporting the change such as a professional certificate of the applicant or record of employment.

i. Change of level of education – Applicant’s school records confirming course taken or new educational level.

j. Change of Disability Status – Statement or letter on a hospital or doctor’s or medical professional's letterhead, statements, records or letters from an agency of Government that issues or provides disability benefits.

CARD REPLACEMENT SERVICES

Applicants requesting the Card Replacement Service at the Ga West NIA Office must observe the following guidelines as well:

1. Applicants will be required to complete and sign an electronic Card Replacement Request Form at the District Office;

2. Replacement of lost, stolen, damaged or defective cards will attract a fee of Ghc35.00 which must be made with either the:

a. CalBank Mobile Banking Platform with short code *771#; or

b. CalBank Online Mobile App; or

c. At a CalBank Branch Office

NB – The office will not accept cash payments for the replacement service.

3. All Applicants must make the request in person;

4. All applications must be supported with a Police Extract (the how, where and when the card got missing, stolen or damaged should be stated in the extract,);

5. Provided, the card got missing/stolen, applicants must state the name on the stolen/missing card in the extract; and

6. Applicants must bring along their damaged or defective Ghana Cards where applicable.

Applicants should also take note that not every request for an update or replacement will be handled on the day it is made. Review of requests may take longer than a day, as the approval of the requests are done at the National Head quarters. Applicants will be required to pay the statutory fee only when requests are approved and NOT before.

USES AND BENEFITS OF THE GHANA CARD

Benjamin Gafa

Municipal Director, NIA