From what seemed to have taken center stage and major talking points in the national discourse in the country, the authorities and policy makers at the National Identification Authority are battling with modalities and pragmatic ways to explain to stakeholders and some opposition political parties about the way forward on how to legitimize Birth certificate as prove of registration rather than the usage of the Voter ID card, which is widely possessed and acknowledged by over thirty million Ghanaians as being credible.
But speaking on Ahotor FM’s “Oman Yi Mu Nsem” socio political morning show on Thursday. The director of elections and vice chairman of the main opposition NDC, Hon. Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo stated that the NIA must endeavor to make the registration process and the acquisition of the ” Ghana Card ” more accessible and less cumbersome’.
The former board chairman of the Ghana Ports and harbour Authority ( GHAPOHA) posited further to the effect that, the Muslim communities will be worse affected if the NIA remain adamant to use only the Birth certificate and passport as attestation for the acquisition of the National Identification card which will soon be implemented by government.
He situated his submissions in the affirmation that though parliament erred in their earlier rulings on the debate at the floor of the house in view of the NIA registration processes. He similarly noted that there is room for redress in Parliament or even at the law Court.
The vice chairman of the NDC chided the NIA officialdom for courting machinations targeted to exempt some legitimate Ghanaians from the registration process. He bemoaned further that, such clandestine attempt is not healthy for the smooth running of the registration process and also has the tendency to disfranchised numerous eligible voters in the general elections in 2020.
He averred that the initiative adopted by the inter- party coalition on critical national matters is in the right direction and questioned why President Nana Akufo Addo and the Presidency has coxed the Ghana Football Association ( GFA) and its beleaguered President, Kwesi Nyantakyi as a scapegoat. A situation Hon. Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo noted cast doubt and snare on the image of the country, and also fumed that Ghana will suffer appreciation in the next index when the Think Tank release’s the 2018/19 corruption perception index annual report by the transparency international which is an anti graft body which serves as watchdog and oversight supervision on corruption related cases and audit of perceptions worldwide.
He commended the Coalition for boldly coming out to expose the ills and tattered image of the current government, and jibed the Akufo Addo administration for failing the credibility text by the public, and by far the entire Ghanaians.
The vice chairman and director of elections further questioned why the NIA registration seems so cumbersome and laborious, making it very difficult and uninspiring for Ghanaians. He chided the officials at the NIA for subjecting Ghanaians for such stringent procedures and processes leading to the commencement of the program. The astute director of elections of the NDC, hinted the coalition has his tacit support on their quest to scrutinize government through the accountability test, which the governing new patriotic party benefited through unlawful avenues whilst in opposition but the government is subtly despising others the opportunity to register their displeasure on prevailing national issues which is ravaging ordinary Ghanaian.
Furthermore, the lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Social Democracy (GISD) of the NDC, schooled that, it is easy and less stressful to acquire a voter identification card as against a passport and also used the platform to advised the officials of the NIA to be guided by the clarion call by the good people of Ghana as the authority buckles up for the national exercise, in order
to avert any further legal tussle by any aggrieved citizen who sought to seek legal interpretation.
On his part Mr. Eric Yobo also a panelist on the program, and a political science lecturer at the Methodist University believed that, any aggrieved person or the minority in Parliament as well as any legitimate citizen of Ghana who decides to test the credibility and viability or otherwise of the Voter ID card as prove of registration of the supposed “Ghana card” is at liberty to initiate such move by suing the NIA at the court.
He similarly avowed that he would not be surprised if such individual is able to secure judgement in his or her favour due to the situational analysis and profiling of painstaking issues which have characterized the entire development in regards to over bloated costing and loads of extraneous matters which have bedevilled the acquisition of the much said “Ghana card” respectively.
Nana Dogbe/ahotoronline.com
