FOGET urges gov’t to guard integrity of Ghana Card registration

Foundation of Generational Thinkers (FOGET) has urged the government to guard the integrity of the ongoing Ghana Card registration exercise.

The Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) has advised the National Identification Authority (NIA) to prevent the process from being infiltrated and hijacked by criminal elements within the society who will register foreigners and other ineligible persons from registering.

FOGET said criminals could use the card for nefarious activities which will ultimately tarnish the country’s image and compromise her security.

In a statement issued in Accra on Thursday, FOGET referred to its earlier warning in October 2017 about the issuance of the national ID card which it said has wide security implications for the country if the registration exercise was abused. In that statement, the NGO noted that Ghana does not have a credible national identity card system whose procurement processes are foolproof and identifies the holder genuinely.

Ghana’s inability to produce a security proof card has devalued the various identity cards that many establishments do not accept them. This has led to a situation whereby the credibility of even the voters’ identity card currently in use has been questioned.

The statement signed by FOGET national president, Prosper Afetsi, pointed out that many Africans arrested outside Ghana have been found to be in possession of the voters’ ID card. FOGET also wondered whether the NIA officials have been properly briefed and understand the security implications of allowing foreigners onto the national register of citizens.

Acquiring a national identity card should involve more than just claiming you hail from a particular town and producing a birth certificate, FOGET suggested.