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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is expected to be the first to be given a new national ID card under the new identification management system.

The new cards, to be issued for free at first, will be ready from Friday, September 15. These were made known by the Executive Director of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Professor Ken Attafuah. Addressing the media on Wednesday, Prof Attafuah said the new smart cards will meet the modern aspirations of the people of Ghana. It will bring to an end the era of multiple ID cards for a single Ghanaian, the head of NIA suggested.

To be referred to as ‘Ghana Cards’, the new identification cards will capture all ten fingers biometrically. The iris of the eye and the face of individuals will also be captured. It is expected to be a form of passport to allow Ghanaian citizens to travel within the West African sub-region. The card is expected to be valid for 10 years within which period if it gets missing or destroyed can be replaced at a fee.

New babies are expected to be registered at birth but will only be given ID codes. Persons less than 14 years shall also be issued with bar codes. But every citizen aged 15 and above, from Friday, will be issued with the cards. “The phenomenon of football age will also be a thing of the past.” Security personnel, students and workers in the Greater Accra Region will be the first to be issued with the cards before a nationwide rollout.