NGO calls on NIA not to spend more on new cards

The World Peace Volunteers, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), has added its voice to the call on the National Identification Authority (NIA) not to spend excessively on the new National Identification Cards.

The Organization said the move by the delegation of the Authority to source an amount of 115 million dollars from the Chinese Export Import for the new National Identification Card code-named the “Ghana Card,” to replace the old ones, must be re-considered.

The call was contained in a statement signed by Mr Seth Osei Acheampong, President of the Organization and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.

“Although the Authority debunked rumours that the amount quoted was untrue, the country recently spent 21 million dollars on the registration, but some could not receive their cards," he said.

Mr Acheampong said the recent Supreme Court judgment on the 2012 presidential elections which recommended for major electoral reforms, could have been easily handled if the country had a good national database.

He said the Ghana Card could have provided the country with the necessary information needed to conclusively establish an identity.

“Many are the advantages of the card, which include its usage for Health Delivery, Education, Remittances from Abroad, Registration of Business, Receipt of Banking Services, Pension Claims, but notwithstanding, we should be very decorous as to how we use our scarce national resource” he added.

He called on the Authority, to be vigilant in the registration, to avoid the inclusion of foreigners in the exercise.