91,000 Double registration detected in national exercise

The National Identification Authority  (NIA) has identified more than 91,000 instances of double registration since the start of the national mass registration exercise in 2008.

The practice, according to the Head of Public Affairs of the NIA, Ms Bertha Dzeble, was illegal and punishable by law.

She, subsequently, advised people against registering twice.

Ms Dzeble made this known on the sidelines of a meeting with journalists, media practitioners and staff of the Information Services Department (ISD) in Wa in the Upper West Region yesterday.

The meeting was to brief the participants on the NIA's mass registration exercise which will commence in the region on Monday, July 22 and end on August 1, 2013.

Ms Dzeble said the NIA had instituted a mechanism to differentiate the registration of foreigners from that of Ghanaians.

On the registration exercise in the region, she said the NIA had deployed 700 machines to the region to be spread across 567 registration centres, with 1,267 people doing the registration.

She said the national mass registration exercise was an essential exercise that would help in the establishment of a national identification data system.

"It will help build confidence in the business environment of the country, protect and provide essential services for us as a people, integrate all activities in the country and facilitate the sharing of data," she stated.

Chris Nunoo/Daily Graphic/Ghana