Readers can recall how the calls for all citizens to register on the Ghana card started as far back as 2018.
It is important to note that the government seeks to use the Ghana Card as the sole identity of citizens and the government has continually campaigned for this cause.
The Ghana Card has been designed to replace the SSNIT card, TIN and NHIS card.
There have been ongoing discussions that the Ghana card would replace the Voter’s ID card but experts have indicated that this would disenfranchise some Ghanaians.
The government has been advised to find justifiable reasons why the Ghana card must replace a particular service card and the legal frameworks must not be ignored in instituting the said changes.
On Saturday, 6th August 2022, the Corporate Affairs Director of the National Identification Authority, Abudu Abdul Ganiyu, made some profound statements during his submissions on a live TV show.
He explained that the Ghana card would not have recorded more successes if it was not tagged to a particular thing.
According to the officer, Ghanaians would not have registered in their numbers if Ghana was purposely for electoral processes.
He also explained that the queues and hustle to acquire the card intensified due to the fear of most Ghanaians in losing this particular thing.
He revealed the turnout would not have been significant if the Ghana card were to replace the tax identification number, the SSNIT number, the national health insurance number or the voter’s ID number.
The Corporate Affairs Boss stated that forty million SIM cards matter to Ghanaians more than any other thing.
His explanation has now made meaning to Ghanaians about why there were threats to block the SIM cards after a deadline.
The Telecommunications Authority CEO, Dr Ken Ashigbey, however, disagreed with the strategy of threatening SIM card subscribers and he advised other tactics should be exploited first. Dr Ashigbey advised that government can request that unregistered SIM users should be given warnings anytime they make calls. This he claims may increase the turnout rather than just threatening them.
What are your thoughts on the ongoing discussion? Do you believe that the Ghana card should replace the voter’s ID card and passport?
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