National Communication Officer of NDC, Sammy Gyamfi
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) party’s Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, has trivialized the activation of the e-passport function of the National Identification Card (Ghana Card) as announced by Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
According to Sammy Gyamfi, Ghana Card which is expected to serve as an e-passport in the coming years is just an identification document to complement the already existing Ghana passport.
Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia in an earlier conference said “by the end of first quarter of 2022, Ghana Card will be recognized globally as an e-passport and can be verified in all International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) compliant borders,” which currently is made up of 197 countries and 4,000 airports.
He added that Diasporan Ghanaians who hold the Ghana Card should not have to obtain visas on their return to the country when the activation is completed.
However, speaking with the co-host of Angel FM’s Anↄpa Bofoↄ morning show, Nana Yaa Brefo, Mr. Gyamfi said that the Ghana Card cannot replace the e-passport because unlike the latter, the NIA card does not have a page to be stamped and it can only be used within visa free countries.
“In the real sense of E-passport, it is the same traditional passport which is the book. The back has been embedded with a micro cheap (RDIF Micro cheap) and the data of the user is captured on the digital page and your picture is also stored in digital form.
“So if you are holding an e-passport, it’s like you are bearing a booklet but with a cheap embedded in the back cover whereby wherever you go, you can use that passport. It is a security feature.
“But our Ghana Card is not the same as that e-passport, because you can only travel with it to countries that are visa free. So, if you are going to an Ecowas country like Nigeria, you don’t need visa or neither the Caribbean countries.
“They are visa free. With that if you hold Ghana Passport you will be able to travel into those countries with it. If you don’t have it, you can travel with the Ghana Card without Visa.
“But if you are going to the US, Europe UK, where you require entry visa, You can’t use the Ghana Card because there is no page where you can stamp the entry visa. You need e-passport which is a booklet.”