The much expected National Identification exercise this month faces a major setback, reports the Business Week newspaper.

The paper quotes a source at the National Identification Authority (NIA) as blaming certain outstanding issues the delay in announcing a take-off date.

The source however declined to mention the issues delaying the exercise.

However, it said the exercise would involve mass and continuous registration. The former focuses on nationwide registration within a given period. The latter will cover those who, for acceptable reasons, were not able to register during the mass registration exercise and, from time-to-time, those who turn six years.

The source, according to the newspaper, said the eligible includes Ghanaian citizens resident in the country and non-residents, legally resident non-Ghanaians, every permanently resident non-Ghanaian and every six-year-old and above.

The NIA will be storing personal data on citizens and non-citizens, house numbers, street names, community and family members among others.

Both text and biometric data would be collected during the exercise.

Persons 15 years and above would be given a national identity card at the end of the exercise.


Source: Business Week