Ghanaians need Ghana Card more than roads, hospitals - Kofi Bentil

Vice President of policy think thank Imani Africa, Kofi Bentil says the need for Ghanaians to have a National Identity Card falls above that of infrastructures such as roads and hospitals.

His claim was in reaction to an announcement by the National Identification Authority that it had detected over 32,000 incidents of double registration in its ongoing nationwide Ghana Card registration exercise.

In a post on his Facebook wall sighted by GhanaWeb, Mr. Bentil called into question the competence of the NIA’s systems, stressing that the system should have been able to detect and delete double registrations.

“Dear NIA, if your systems function properly, it will flag and delete all double registrations because no one can change their irises or fingerprints,” he wrote.

He called on the authority to focus on making its system to deliver on its mandate as their work plays a crucial role in national development.

Stressing on the importance of the Ghana Card, Kofi Bentil said the nation is having to doll out over a $100 million for the Electoral Commission to compile a new register because the NIA has failed on its mandate.

He called on the NIA to focus on delivering on its mandate instead of threatening to prosecute persons caught up in the double registration whiles stressing that Ghanaians need the National Identification Card more than roads and hospitals.

“Your inability to complete it is the reason EC is saddling this nation with over $100m of needless work. Money which in my view should Come to you! Stop threatening prosecution and focus on completing your work well. We need this national ID more than roads and hospitals,” he added.