The National Identification Authority (NIA) has rescheduled its issuance of the printed Ghana Cards from today [Monday] to Wednesday, June 10.

According to a statement from the authority, the rescheduling has been necessitated by the Authority’s need to complete the distribution of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to registration centres.

The NIA will be issuing 3,875,441 printed cards to Ghana Card applicants at 5,635 registration centres.

The authority has described the exercise as a nationwide card issuance blitz which will run till Tuesday, June 16, 2020.

It expects 11,062,850 Ghanaians to have the Ghana Card in time for the Electoral Commission’s (EC) compilation of a new voter register as the EC plans to make the Ghana Card and the passports the only valid identification for registering to vote.

There will also be a nationwide mop-up registration exercise commencing on June 18, 2020, which will run through to mid-September 2020.

“The issuance will also enable persons in possession of the Ghana Card to use it for other mandatory purposes stated in the National Identity Register Regulation, 2012 (LI 2111), including registering as a voter and vouching for others as Ghanaians,” the authority noted in a press release issued last Friday, June 5, 2020.

The authority assured that adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) will be provided for use by the NIA’s field officers during the exercise.

“Additionally, security personnel will be deployed at each Registration Centre to ensure that crowd control measures such as physical distancing and appointment system are strictly observed,” it added.

Applicants attending the NIA card collection centres will be required to be in their face masks and wash their hands before beginning the card collection process.

Source: Citinewsroom.com