The National Identification Authority (NIA) reports that the majority of non-citizen national identity cards (Ghana cards) issued in Ghana are held by Chinese nationals.

Executive Secretary of the NIA, Prof. Kenneth Agyeman Attafuah, Executive Secretary, said this at a press conference in Accra on Friday, September 16, 2022, to commemorate this year’s International Identity Day.

This comes in the wake of the recent controversy surrounding the re-entry of Huang En, also known as Aisha Huang, a Chinese citizen with a non-citizen Ghana card, who was repatriated in 2018 for alleged illegal mining.

According to the NIA, 34,712 non-citizen Ghana cards have been issued to Chinese nationals in Ghana. This figure represents 22% of Ghana’s 161,007 immigrants from 202 different countries.

With a total of 25,873 cards, Nigerians were the second-largest group of foreigners with non- citizen Ghana cards, followed by Indian citizens (20,110).

Per the figures provided by NIA, the cards issued to Germans constituted 4,329; Lebanon, 4,324; United Kingdom (UK), 4,133; South Africa, 3,194; 2,222; Cote D’Ivoire, 2,150 and Gabon, 1,958 cards.

Prof Attafuah stated that as of September 15, 2022, a total of 17,163,081 people had been enrolled onto the NIA system, with 16,627,326 cards printed and 15,869,026 cards issued.

The Executive Secretary stated that the Authority had implemented a robust system to verify all cards of Ghanaians for the purpose of transacting business with banks, as well as non-citizens who would use the card to apply for or renew their residence permit, open or run a bank account in the country.

Prof Attafuah asked African countries to step up efforts to ensure that the citizenry had legal identity to foster social, economic, and political inclusion. Prof. Attafuah urged African countries to step up efforts to ensure that citizens have legal identities in order to foster social, economic, and political inclusion.

He stated that the country would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the Ghana card became “the single source of proof,” noting that the Authority had implemented a verification system that required

banks to authenticate individuals who used the card for various transactions since January 2021.

“With this verification system, if you go to the bank with or without your Ghana card, with your fingerprint, the bank is able to verify your identity as part of KYC (Know Your Customer) and give you a service,” Prof Attafuah noted.

The Executive Secretary hinted that the NIA would begin registering Ghanaians abroad in November 2022 and begin registering children in the country between the ages of

four and 15 in December 2022.

Meanwhile, Prof Attafuah stated that registration for the refugee identification card will begin next week.

He said continuous registration would also be carried out in all 16 designated regional and all 275 district offices of NIA.

He also promised that all 275 NIA district offices and all 16 NIA regional offices would participate in the continuous registration process.

Source: The Independent Ghana