Ghana Card Boycott: We won't rescind our decision – Minority

Helen Adwoa Ntorsu, Member of Parliament for Krachie-East and Member of the Defence and Interior Committee in Parliament, has said the minority will not rescind its decision regarding the Ghana card registration exercise being undertaken by the National Identification Authority (NIA).

According to her, the minority had raised issues with the documents – Passports, and birth certificates, being demanded by the NIA before citizens are registered.

She told Chief Jerry Forson on the Ghana Yensom show on Accra 100.5FM Wednesday July 11 that since not every Ghanaian has access to a passport, a lot of citizens are going to end up disenfranchised Ghanaians in the 2020 elections.

“The minority will not register until the issues we raised are addressed,” she said.

She added: It appears the President does not want to listen to the cry of the people, let me tell him that if he continuously incurs the wrath of God, God will bring him down.”

Meanwhile President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has rubbished claims by some leaders and legislators of the National Democratic Congress that the purpose of the National Identification Card is to disenfranchise some Ghanaians, particularly those from the Volta Region.

According to President Akufo-Addo, residents of the Volta Region, who live close to Togo, are aware of the “Carte nationale d’Identité”, Togo National ID card, and, described as unfortunate Ghana’s inability, for well over 8 years, to have her own National ID card.

To this end, the President noted that Parliament has passed a law, the contents of which are merely being implemented by the National Identification Authority.

“NIA has not refused anything other than what Parliament passed. The legislation that is insisting on passports and birth certificates is not the work of NIA, it is the work of Parliament. It is the law passed by Parliament. So, statements that the NIA is deliberately refusing this or that is unfortunate. It means the person or those who are saying this are not familiar with the legal situation,” the President said.



He continued, “I have no interest in disenfranchising any Ghanaian. The card is meant for Ghanaians, and that is why Parliament, with the full support of both sides of the house, the minority and majority, supported the new law that is being applied by the NIA. So, it is unfortunate that some people are approving and disapproving their own work.”

He noted, therefore, that there is no justification for anyone, let alone Minority MPs, to “come back and then say these particular people are doing this to disenfranchise x, y or z persons. We are not disenfranchising anybody. If you don’t have a birth certificate, passport, all you have to do is to produce a Ghanaian to vouch for you, and you get your card.”

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Monday, 9th July, 2018, when he commissioned the Anlo Shopping Centre, a project completed by the Akufo-Addo Government, at the commencement of his 3-day tour of the Volta Region.