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The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has taken a swipe at the Minority Group in Parliament, questioning the bases of its vehement opposition to the intended usage of it by the Electoral Commission (EC), as the sole document for registration.
He said past heads of the Commission did not consider the Ghana Card as the sole document because not all eligible Ghanaians had received theirs.
He cited how the Dr Kwadwo Afari Gyan-led and Charlotte Osei-led commissions used the Ghana Cards alongside other documents of proof for continuous voter registration.
The Suame Member of Parliament stated, however, that the current Commission is finding the Ghana Cards more useful because the number of holders, according to the National Identification Authority (NIA's) data, is close to the total voter population of the EC.
He said other state institutions had found the NIA cards credible for use for their operations and the EC should not be stopped from towing that path.
“As we speak today, there are various institutions who, recognising the integrity of the [National] Identification Authority and, indeed, the Ghana Card, have resorted to the use of the Ghana Card,” for the verification of client identity, he told journalists in Parliament on Thursday, March 2.
He listed the institutions as the Bank of Ghana, 24 commercial banks, 146 rural and community banks, 16 savings and loans schemes, 16 FinTechs institutions, 5 finance houses, three microfinance institutions, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) and now the Electoral Commission.
He also mentioned the Ghana Immigration Service, the telecommunication networks, the Students Loan Trust, the Passport Office as well as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).
“So, if the Commission wants to do this, colleagues, what’s wrong with this?” Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu wondered.
He recalled how former President John Dramani Mahama had vouched for the integrity of the Ghana Card when he was registered by NIA officials at his residence.
After the issuance of the Card, he said that, "yes, today I have seen and believed that this system has integrity and can be relied on". Prez Mahama quoted.
“And now your people are shying away from it and they are saying we can’t use it?”
He said it was just beyond comprehension that the Minority was fighting tooth and nail against the use of the Ghana Cards when they officially use it for operations with other institutions, he concluded.
