It must have come as a huge relief to many Ghanaians when the government announced an extension of the date for the national SIM re-registration exercise that was initially supposed to end on March 31, 2021.
In a press release from the Ministry of Communications dated Tuesday, March 22, 2022, the government gave reasons for the extension and blamed a myriad of factors including the number of people without a Ghana Card, which is the basic requirement.
“The SIM registration exercise began on 1st October, 2021 and is expected to end on 31st March, 2022. As at 17th March, 14,091,542 SIM Cards have been linked to the Ghana Card, 10,348,532 Bio-Captures conducted and 99,445 New SIMs registered. Due to a number of factors including the fact that over 7.5 million citizens and residents are yet to obtain Ghana Cards to enable them register their SIM cards, it is clear that the deadline for completion of the registration of the remaining active SIM cards cannot be met,” the ministry said.
But the attempt to get a national identity card for all citizens in the country however goes way back and in this Sankofa Series article, GhanaWeb brings you an extremely rare photo of what Ghana’s first National Identification Card looked like.
History of National IDs in Ghana
According to the website of the National Identification Authority (NIA), in 1973, national identity cards were issued to citizens in the border regions of Ghana including Volta, Northern, Upper East and Upper West, Brong Ahafo, and parts of the Western Region.
The project was however discontinued three years later due to problems with logistics and lack of financial support. This was the first time the idea of national identification systems arose.
Again, in 1987, the government of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) through the National Commission for Democracy (NCD), revisited the national identity card concept by establishing committees including a Technical Implementation Committee.
However, due to economic difficulties, the issue was not pursued.
Thanks to a retired police officer who still has her copy of her Citizen ID from the 1970s, GhanaWeb shares the photos of what those first IDs issued in Ghana looked like.
Dated December 4, 1975, with the bold inscriptions of GHANA CITIZEN IDENTITY CARD on it, the card with plain green edges, shows details for Name, Residential Address, Occupation, Birth Date, Birth Place, Permanent Home Address, Signature, and Right Thumbprint.
A passport size photo on the right side of the card gives it a complete feel while on the back of the card, it reads:
“Republic of Ghana. Government Property: Not Transferable. If found, please deliver to the nearest police station,” all written in caps, with the Coat of Arms of Ghana placed exactly on top of the texts.
