Interior Minister Introduces New NIA Board

On Thursday, the Minister for the Interior, Mr. Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, Officially introduced a new 10 member board that will help manage the National Identification Authority (NIA). This group is responsible for making sure every Ghanaian gets a safe and reliable national ID card.

The chairman of the board is Mr. Moses Afetsi Positive, a businessman. Other members include professionals from different important government offices like the Ghana Statistical Service, Social Security (SSNIT), the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), the Birth and Death Registry, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), and the Ghana Immigration Service.

When the Minister spoke at the event, he said this board’s job is very important because Ghana needs a strong national identity system. A national identity system helps the government know who lives in the country, which makes it easier to plan for things like healthcare, education, and security.

The Minister praised the NIA, especially its Executive Secretary, Mr. Wisdom Kwaku Deku, who took office in January. Since then, he has helped to deliver blank ID cards to all 266 district offices across the country. This means people can now register for their national ID cards in all areas without long delays.

To make services better, the NIA has moved its premium registration center (where people pay for faster service) from its main office to a more convenient place in Accra. Also, they are working on making it easier to book appointments online. The Ashanti Region will soon be added to this system, and other regions will follow.

Even with all this progress, the Minister said the NIA still has problems, especially with money. If the NIA doesn’t get enough funding, it won’t be able to continue improving or expanding its services. He asked all government bodies to work together to support the NIA.

Finally, he reminded the new board members that their job is to guide and supervise the NIA, following the law. The board members promised to work hard and thanked the Minister for trusting them with this responsibility.