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Prof. Kenneth Attafuah, the Chief Executive of the NIA
Prof. Kenneth Attafuah, the Chief Executive of the NIA

Fast-track implementation of National Identification System - Prez Akufo-Addo

The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has directed the National Identification Authority (NIA) to immediately engage with Identity Management Systems (IMS) Limited, a private identity management company, “to agree on the modalities to ensure the efficient roll-out of the National Identification System (NIS) project not later than 15th September, 2017.”

A letter from the Office of the President addressed to the Chief Executive of the NIA, Prof. Kenneth Attafuah, said the government had completed its review of the reports of the technical and legal committees established by the Vice-President in January 2017.

The committees were set up to advise the government on the effective implementation of the NIS for the country.

“Based on the results of the review, the government has determined that the existing agreement between the NIA and the IMS constitutes a viable and effective vehicle for the implementation of a modern, robust and reliable NIS for Ghana, consistent with the government’s stated policy commitments,” the letter from the President, signed on his behalf by the Chief of Staff, Ms Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, stated.

Further directions

The letter further directed the NIA to “initiate, as a matter of urgency, the requisite steps to ensure the refurbishment and upgrading of the NIA’s data centre in order to render it fit for the purpose of achieving the mandate of the NIA.”

The President also tasked the authority to engage the services of competent information and communications technology (ICT) professionals to enhance its existing technical capacity to ensure the full and effective implementation of the NIS.

Additionally, the authority is tasked to liaise with institutions, “particularly those involved in the work of the said technical committee, to ensure the full and effective integration and harmonisation of their respective databases into the National Identity Register as provided for by law.”

Context

The directives to the authority and its urgency fulfil the campaign promise of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

In its manifesto for the 2016 election titled “Change: an agenda for jobs (creating prosperity and equality for all),” the NPP, under its flag bearer then, Nana Akufo-Addo, promised to formalise the economy through the establishment of a national database using the NIS as the primary identifier, with linkages to the databases of institutions such as the Ghana Police Service, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Passport Office, Immigration, Courts, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).

Background

The NIA was established by the National Identification Authority Act 2006 (Act 707) to collect personal data on Ghanaian residents and those living abroad, as well as foreign nationals living in the country.

It was also to create and maintain a national database, and provide and promote the use of national identification cards to advance economic, political and social activity in the country.

It began a mass registration exercise in the Central Region in July 2008, and the plan was to end in nine months, that was May 2009.

However, because of funding challenges, the exercise dragged until May 2010, when it finally got to the Brong Ahafo Region. Meanwhile the registration of residents of the three northern regions remained outstanding.

A lull in the activities of the authority was subsequently followed with the announcement in September 2014 that the NIA was to re-register about 15 million Ghanaians under an “expanded registration project”.

The exercise was to be undertaken with a $115 million facility from Exim China, with the registration itself being executed under a public/private partnership with the IMS.

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