The National Identification Authority (NIA) is set to help government rid its payroll of ghost names with the mandatory Ghana Card registration for all public sector workers beginning August 28, 2023.
The registration of public sector workers forms part of an upcoming registration of first-time applicants from age 15 years and above, made possible by the supply of some 484,000 new blanks cards to the NIA to enable it fulfil its mandate.
Executive Secretary of the NIA, Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah has been telling Techfocus24 that at the request of the Controller and Accountant-General, NIA has reserved the first ten days, between August 28 and September 8, 2023, exclusively for public sector workers who have not applied for Ghana Card yet to do so.
He said such persons are required to present a copy of their previous month’s payslips in addition to other mandatory documents to get registered and be issued with Ghana Cards. The payslip is necessary because the name on the payslip is exactly what will be used for the Ghana Card, to ensure uniformity and easy verification.
“NIA will only accept and use for the registration the name of the Public Sector Worker as captured on the July 2023 Payslip of an applicant,” he said.
Other mandatory documents to be presented for registration are a genuine Birth Certificate, a valid Ghanaian Passport or a Certificate of Acquired Citizenship/ Naturalization, as may be necessary and appropriate.
According to him, the Controller and Accountant-General will need the biometric details of all public sector workers to roll them over into its biometric payroll and it is only the Ghana Card that will be used to verify the identity of such persons for their monthly salaries to be paid.
Public sector workers who fail to take advantage of that window, risk forfeiting their monthly salaries because they will soon need their Ghana Card to access their salaries.
Not long ago, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia disclosed that there are over 148,000 ghost names on government’s payroll and that is costing government millions of Ghana cedis for no work done. The Vice President then hinted that beginning from December this year, government will not make funds available for salaries of persons whose IDs cannot be verified.
Prof. Kenneth Attafuah noted that whereas it is not part of the mandate of NIA to deny any public worker of their salaries, “we get the sense that the intent of the Controller and Accountant-General is to rid government’s payroll of ghost names and stop the loss of state funds to ghosts.”
“Ghosts don’t work and they do not deserve to be paid with our taxes,” he said.
Meanwhile, the NIA has given a window for persons who may lack any of the mandatory documents for registration. Such persons can have a relative or two persons who possess a Ghana Card and know the applicant to be a Ghanaian to vouch for them.
Apart from a family members, the list of persons qualified to vouch for an applicant include the following:
- A practising or retired professional teacher (including principals, headmasters & head teachers)
- A Gazetted Chief
- A practicing or retired Magistrate or Judge
- A practicing or retired licenced Professional e.g. doctor, nurse, lawyer, accountant, engineer, architect etc.
- A serving or retired civil/public servant.
- A serving or retired Clergyman.
- An Imam
- A serving or retired Catechist.
- A serving or retired member of the security services including the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Prison Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana National Fire Service, BNI, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service of the Ghana Revenue Service and National Security
- A current or past Member of Parliament, An Assembly or Unit Committee
Prof. Attafuah said registration will be carried out at eight of NIA’s regional offices and all 276 district offices across the country, adding that during the first ten days, NIA will not accept request for replacements of lost, stolen and damaged cards, neither would it do take requests for corrections.
But after the first ten days exclusively for public sector workers, all other Ghanaians from aged 15 and above can also visit any of the designated locations and get registered and or for replacement and corrections.
