The Committee on Communications for the Ghanaian Parliament says the National Identification Authority (NIA) is yet to register and issue a identification card to 83percent of the Ghanaian populace.
This percentage represent about 27million of the country's population.
According to the report, the NIA has enrolled only 4.5million resident Ghanaians, representing 17percent of the population.
“Presently, the Authority is managing the biometric data of 4.5million resident Ghanaians and 90,000 legally resident foreign nationals.” the report states.
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Despite the challenges of the authority in the year 2016, it was able to register 2,775 resident Ghanaians and issued 3,658 National Identity Cards to registered resident Ghanaians.
It was also able to register and issue identity cards to 14,067 legally resident foreign nationals.
In 2017, the NIA has been allocated GhC 112m, comprising compensation of GhC 5m, GhC 10m for Goods and Services and an IGF component of GhC 7m.
The NIA intends to revamp the National Identification System(NIS) in line with its statutory mandate by issuing National Identity Cards to citizens and generally ensure the effective implementation of the NIS.
The Authority intends to vigorously enforce the use of the non-citizen Ghana Card by eligible foreign nationals.
The Committee also noted that other institutions are also holding separate biometric data of segments of the population, and it is important to have a one-stop shop for personal biometric data to avoid duplication and improve the credibility of such data.
“In this regard, the NIA plans to harmonise the regulatory framework, strengthen institutional co-ordination and integrate other public biometric databases into the National Identity Register”.
The NIA has the mandate to adopt cutting edge technology to provide client-based identification services for socio-economic development, good governance, safety and security for all citizens and eligible foreign nationals resident in Ghana.
It is expected to help establish an integrated Data Warehouse of databases from key public institutions, using the National Identification System as the unique identifier for data items, and automating the processes involved in accessing public services at both national and local government offices.