The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Bristol Chapter, United Kingdom (UK), has commended Vice President Dr Mahmoud Bawumia for the introduction of the Ghana Card numbers at birth initiative.
“It shows a significant step towards establishing a comprehensive national identity (ID) system in Ghana,” it said.
In a statement signed by Mr Michael Ampaadu, the Communication Director of the Chapter, copied to the Ghana News Agency, said a national identification system starting from birth could enhance security and reduce instances of identity fraud.
It said it could also produce a centralised database of citizens identities, where the Government could verify individuals more accurately and prevent misuse of personal information, which were crucial in the present digital age where identity theft and cybercrimes posed significant risks to individuals and the state.
The initiative, which assigned a unique ID number to newborns, had several importance for the country, particularly in the areas of good governance, social services and security.
These could be compared with the system in developed countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States of America, it said.
“In developed countries like the UK and USA, national identification systems have long been in place, with unique identification numbers or cards issued to citizens at different stages of their lives”.
Implementing a national identification system, especially at birth, came with its own challenges such as privacy concerns, data protection and administrative complexity, the statement said, and called for a robust safeguard to protect citizens’ personal information from exploitation and misuse.
It said it was essential to learn from experiences of developed countries and adopt best practices to address potential challenges, ensuring transparency, accountability, and data security, which were key to gaining public trust and fostering wider acceptance of the national identification system.
The Chapter believed that leveraging on the lessons learnt from countries like the UK and US the country could harness the full potential of the Ghana card numbers at birth to drive sustainable development, enhance good governance and improve upon citizens’ lives.
The statement called on Ghanaians to give the Vice-President the chance to implement his own agenda for the country by voting for him in the December polls.
GNA
JP/CAA/ABD
19 March 2024
