The Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has taken a swipe at the Minority Group in Parliament, questioning its opposition to the intention of the Electoral Commission, Ghana (EC) to use the Ghana Card 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 them.
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) data, is close to the total voter population of the EC.
He said other state institutions have found the NIA cards credible for use for their operations and the EC should not 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,” 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, five finance house, 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 Ghana Card when he was registered by NIA officials for one.
“After the issuance of the Card, he said that, yes, today he has seen and he believes that this system has integrity and can be relied on.
“And now your people are shying away from it and they are saying we can’t use it?”
He said it is just beyond comprehension that the Minority is fighting tooth and nail against the use of the Ghana Cards by the Commission.
