Founder of the All People’s Congress (APC), Hassan Ayariga has condemned directives for the Ghana Card to be used as the only identification to re-register SIM cards and transact business at the bank.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG), in a statement on Wednesday, announced that with effect from July 1, 2022, the Ghana Card shall be the only identification card that will be used to undertake transactions at all Bank of Ghana licensed and regulated financial institutions.
But, Dr Ayariga has argued the Ghana Card cannot be used as a legitimate document to verify citizenship and identity.
According to him, the BoG directive cannot hold as there is no law backing it and also considering the challenges associated with its acquisition.
“I registered for the Ghana Card in 2019 but yet to receive it and when I went to the office, I was told to lodge a complaint of a missing card with the police to acquire a form for a new one. How is that even possible when I haven’t even received any card,” he bemoaned.
Dr Ayariga made these remarks on the Beyi W’ano segment on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Monday as he questioned the motive behind the directive.
“They are forcing to create a database system which does not exist. We are not leaving in a banana economy for them to issue such a directives,” Dr Ayariga stated.
He said he could not fathom why there are passports and voters’ ID cards that were issued on a biometric basis and can still not be valid.
“Telcos and Bank of Ghana cannot reduce acceptance of identification to only Ghana Cards. What form of documents (ID) will they accept from a foreigner who visits Ghana for business or holidays?” he quizzed.
Customers of telecommunication companies have been directed to synchronize their details with the National Identification database.
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The process includes visiting respective mobile operators’ outlets, a situation that has resulted in long queues.
Though NIA says it has issued cards to about 15 million Ghanaians, a lot of citizens are still struggling to either register for a new card, misplace missing cards, or mere collection.
This has generated conversation about the waste of productive hours amid questions about the flexibility of the exercise.
Meanwhile, a group of notable Ghanaian personalities who have identified themselves as Concerned Mobile Network Subscribers have served notice of boycotting the re-registration exercise on February 8, 2022.
The group say they are ready to lose their SIM cards and have therefore set aside Tuesday, February 8, to embark on a nationwide protest dubbed ‘No Calls Day’.