The Minority Caucus in Parliament has urged all eligible Ghanaians to obtain the National Identification Card, popularly known as the Ghana Card, describing it as essential to safeguarding citizens’ democratic rights.
The caucus said the Electoral Commission‘s consideration of using the Ghana Card as the primary identification document for voter registration and the conduct of the 2024 general election made it imperative for every qualified Ghanaian to possess the card.
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Speaking on the floor of Parliament, the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, stressed that no eligible citizen should be denied access to the Ghana Card, warning that failure to ensure widespread access could undermine the country’s democratic process.
He called for measures to make the card more accessible to all Ghanaians.
The Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram and Deputy Ranking Member on the Communications Committee, Samuel Nartey George, also appealed to Parliament’s Business Committee to schedule a joint briefing by the Ministers for the Interior, Communications and Digitalisation, and Finance on issues relating to the Ghana Card.
He explained that Parliament had oversight responsibility over the National Identification Authority (NIA), the National Communications Authority (NCA) and the Bank of Ghana through the respective ministries.
Mr George noted that the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation had set June 30, 2022, as the deadline for linking Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards to the Ghana Card, after which unregistered SIM cards would be deactivated.
He also pointed out that the Bank of Ghana had directed financial institutions to require the Ghana Card for access to bank accounts in accordance with Legislative Instrument (LI) 2111.
The Member of Parliament for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, expressed concern over the accessibility of National Identification Authority district offices, saying many registration centres were located far from the communities they served.
He appealed to the NIA to adopt mobile registration exercises and outreach programmes to bring registration services closer to people in underserved communities and improve access to the Ghana Card.
