We shouldn't rush in making Ghana Card the only acceptable ID in Ghana – Oppong-Yeboah

Media personality and human rights activist, Josephine Oppong-Yeboah, says there is no need to rush in making the Ghana Card the only acceptable identification card in Ghana.

She thinks that authorities should not rush to outlaw all other identification cards.

For her, authorities need to exercise some patience in order to capture all Ghanaians in the system.

Speaking in an interview, Ms Oppong-Yeboah said any attempt to make the Ghana Card the only acceptable identification for business transactions in the country will deny many citizens access to certain basic social services.

She believes that even though a number of Ghanaians have acquired the Ghana Card, many are yet to get theirs due to the delays in the issuance of the cards.

"You suffer to get voters identification card and now we are told that without the Ghana Card, you cannot even open a bank account," she bemoaned the situation, adding "If all other national identification cards are no longer useful, why do continue to waste resources on them?"

Ms Oppong-Yeboah said it was about time duty bearers critically examined the issues before they are rolled out in order not to bring any untold hardships on the very people whose interest they serve.

“Many people have not been able to even register their SIM cards all because they don’t have Ghana Cards and it’s not easy for people to get the Ghana Cards,” she observed, adding “Why can’t we make the system easier for people to get the Ghana card?”

She also called on the National Identification Authority (NIA) to look into some of the allegations some registrants have made against some staff of the authority with regard to the registration process.

“Some people have complained of having to pay monies to the registration officials in order to get their cards done for them. We need to investigate all these allegations because if they are only attending to those who claimed to have paid monies, what happens to those who don’t pay,” Ms Oppong-Yeboah quizzed.

She added, “We should not allow only a few selfish individuals to frustrate national efforts. Every Ghanaian citizens must be treated equally and fairly. If some NIA officials are deliberately frustrating the process so that those who are affected by the system will pay the bribes, let us fish them out and punish."