Ghana Card Issuance Generates Controversy In Parliament

The issuance of the National Identification Card popularly referred to as the Ghana card has generated a huge debate on the floor of parliament with some Minority MPs and their counterparts in government trading war of words over the matter.

The ID card which was part of the numerous promises by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government is meant to be the primary ID card that citizens will use to access all essential services in the country and for trips within the West African sub-region.

The card is also expected to be the only valid ID for application for a bank account, passport, telephone number, property acquisition, driver’s license and many more.

On the floor of the house on Tuesday, November 28, this took centre stage as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-Prampram, Sam George, questioned why only the President had access to the card leaving equally important personalities like the Vice President, Speaker of Parliament and the sector Minister of Communication and her deputies out.

But Defense Minister, Dominic Nitiwul on a point of order, said that was not the case.

Speaking to Class news, Sam George said this was one classic example of a failed administration whose leader, President Akufo-Addo had reneged on honouring its numerous promises to the citizenry.

“The NPP must admit failure of a promise that they made to the Ghanaian people to vote for them,” he said.

But Deputy Communications Minister, Vincent Sowah Odotei in answering some of the questions raised by Mr George indicated that the national ID card system has started “and by the close of this year, the process to ensure that all citizens of Ghana” get the cards would have been sorted “so that everyone has an ID card”.

For him, the argument by Mr George is “presumptive” because the year has not ended and “tells the propaganda [the MP] is trying to allude”.