National Identification Is Doomed To Fail � Consultant

A Consultant for the Street Naming and House Addressing Project, Henry Bonney Quarshie, has posited that the National Identification System (NIS), is doomed to failure because of the fixation or the concentration on biometric data with less emphasis or inadequate information on biographic data. Mr. Bonney Quarshie was of the view that because there is no existing and credible address system in the country, most Ghanaians do not know their house numbers, not to talk of street names. �If the main function of your project is to provide proof of residency and proof of identity, you don�t concentrate on only the biometric which is proof of identity, and gather information which is unreliable, that is the proof of residency which you are currently being provided with,� he argued. He strongly contended that �you cannot have a biometric data alone and say you are implementing a National Identification System (NIS)�besides criminals might also provide information which might not be reliable,� he stated. The establishment of the National Identification System (NIS) will provide storage, protection and management of the identities of Ghanaians and other nationals resident in the country in a national population register. The NIS will help address national security matters, credit information, revenue collection, acquisition of passport and driving license, and registration of voters. Other public service, delivery and human development activities such as registration of births, deaths and marriages, social security and the national health insurance system will be addressed by NIS. The information being gathered for the national data base system would assist the Police, Fire Service, Banks and various agencies in seeking information about Ghanaians.