The Minister for the Interior, Mr Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, has expressed concern over the large number of eligible children in the Volta Region who are yet to be enrolled in the National Identification Authority’s (NIA) ongoing mass registration exercise for children aged between six and 14 years.
According to the minister, more than 200,000 children remain unregistered despite the progress made during the first phase of the exercise.
Mr Mohammed-Mubarak disclosed this during a meeting with chiefs of the Asogli State in Ho as part of his working visit to the Volta Region.
He noted that while the registration exercise had recorded encouraging results, the number of children captured so far was significantly below the target set by the Authority.
The minister explained that the NIA had projected to register over 300,000 children in the region during the initial phase of the exercise.
“After the three-week registration exercise, we have been able to register a little over 108,000 children. This means that more than 200,000 eligible children are yet to be captured,” he stated.
Mr Mohammed-Mubarak reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring that all eligible children were enrolled on the national identification database and announced plans to intensify efforts to reach those who missed the initial exercise.
“We will return to undertake a mop-up exercise, but that alone will not be enough. We will draw up another timetable and come back, possibly for another three weeks, to ensure that we cover almost every eligible child,” he said.
The minister emphasised that registering children on the national database was crucial to effective national planning, identity management, and the delivery of public services.
He explained that early registration would provide children with a verifiable identity and facilitate their access to essential services and opportunities in the future.
Mr Mohammed-Mubarak noted that accurate identification records would be particularly important when the children later sought admission into educational institutions, applied for employment, joined the security services, or accessed other government services.
He stressed that the initiative forms part of the government’s broader agenda to establish a comprehensive and reliable national identification system capable of supporting national development and improving service delivery across the country.
The minister called on traditional leaders, parents, and community stakeholders to support the exercise by encouraging all eligible children to register when registration teams return to their communities.
Judith Twumwaa, ISD
