Politics failed national identification initiative
A former Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Professor Kenneth Attafuah, has expressed worry over the steady politicisation of the national identification initiative introduced some years ago.
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He observed that the national identification system in Ghana had failed and it was one of the colossal miseries of the country that such an initiative could not be managed in order to sustain a credible national identification programme.
“I took on that challenge when I was given the opportunity because I believed it was fundamental to the development of the country in future,” he said.
He made the observation on the weekly motivational talk show, the Springboard, on Joy FM, when he and Reverend Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, an investment consultant, in the country appeared on the show.
It was part of the show’s ‘My Ideal Ghana Series,’ which is aimed at motivating people to work towards building the nation they want to see in Ghana.
The discussion, which was the 14th on the series was themed “10 critical success factors of national development.”
Benefits of ID system
The establishment of the national identification system will provide storage, protection and management of the identities of Ghanaians and other nationals resident in the country in a national register.
A trust worthy identification system that is multi usage has enormous benefits to country’s development aspirations, as it will be used by various players, including banks, insurers, security services and the airlines.
The former Exceutive Secretary of the NIA explained that a national identification card has several benefits to the state, hence the need to establish a comprehensive national identification system to that will aid economic growth.
“My ideal Ghana will be a nation that will have a trust worthy national identification system that enable all persons in Ghana from age six and above to have a biometric multi-purpose identity card,” Prof Attafauh, who is a lawyer and a criminologist indicated.
He explained that it was at the age of six that an individual’s finger prints take proper shape or form, hence the need to biometrically register children from age six and beyond.
“Although the child will be registered alright from birth at the birth and death registry as soon as he or she is six, the system must automatically register the child into a national identification system, where their finger print and other features will be captured,” he said.
“My ideal Ghana should have a national identification system from the age of six. It is the fundamental to the development of Ghana. It has multiple uses and can help in managing programmes for society.”
Consequeces of no ID system
The need for the government to reliably identify citizens is among other things to ensure public safety, after services, issue welfare benefits and control immigration and also help with national planning.
The absence of a reliable means of national identification has created problems for the administration and management of resources in the country.
A national identification system will help address national security matters, credit information, revenue collection, acquisition of passport and driving license, as well as registration of voters.
Other public service delivery and human development activities such as registration of births, deaths and marriages, social security and the national health insurance system will be addressed by a comprehensive identification systems.
It is also believed that the national identification authority will provide up-to-date data that will form a sound base for policy formulation and implementation, which will put people’s rights and responsibilities at the care of the country’s development.
Reverend Ogbarmey-Tetteh explained that having a trust worthy national identification card would enable the providers to collate information such that financial institutions and other organisations could make referencing to inform their decisions.
Revising educational system
Going forward, the investment consultant said educational system in the country must shift from a degre- base learning syndrome which teaches students only to pass exams.
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“What I mean by this is that an individual must not go through the educational system in the country just to acquire a degree. The emphases of making our education application driven must take the center stage,” he noted.
Prof Attafuah, who is also the Dean of Law at the Central University, said it was crucial for the country to develop a society, where no child drops out of school and no school fails a child.
“It is also important to ensure that we do not create a google generation of student who are incapable of doing any independent cerebral research but rather clicking on their handset to find what somebody has already put down and repackage as he or hers,” he added.
Improving administrative justice system
For many, an ideal society is one where systems and structures work to the benefit of citizenry and the society in general.
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However, in our part of the world, systems and structureshardly work.
The two panellists noted that this was not good of the forward match of the country. As a result, they said until policy makers and the citizenry ensured that systems and structures functioned properly, “we are on a journey of nowhere”.
“As a country, we need to alter our thinking positively in order to make Ghana a better place because we all have a stake in it,” Rev. Dr Tetteh said.
He underscored the need for citizenry in the country to assume leadership roles at all level.
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Prof Attafuah called for the improvement of administrative justice system in the countr to ensure that people conformed to rules and regulations.
“As a country, we need to find a way of actualising all that we have been saying about our ideal Ghana. I want to register the importance of an administrative justice: all around us, we encounter delays, poor service, injustice, among others. In my ideal Ghana, there will be less of those in order to create a better society for all,” he added.