Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on Sunday gave the clearest indication yet that the national identification card, the Ghana Card, could be a key requirement for registration as a voter in next year’s elections.
He said the Ghana Card, with its unique identification qualities, will eliminate the usual rancour over the Voters’ Register and ensure its credibility.
Dr. Bawumia who dropped the hint while addressing the 39th Annual Technology Exhibition of the Kristo Asafo Mission at Awoshie in Accra, said the national identification card issuance exercise to be completed in June 2020, will ensure that every Ghanaian has a national ID Number and can be uniquely identified.
Speaking in a mix of Twi and English, Dr. Bawumia praised Apostle Ing. Kwadwo Safo for his ingenuity, saying his achievements underscore the fact that we are capable and that technology remains a key requirement for national development.
He also challenged the youth to complement Apostle Safo’s hard technologies with soft technological solutions, saying government was doing its best in rolling out digital solutions to enhance life, such as digital drivers’ licence, digital passports as well as the national health insurance.
Dr. Bawumia emphasized that the Ghana Card will help the nation a great deal, explaining that there are a number of activities that require the unique identification of individuals such as voting, saying each election year comes with agitations for and against a new voters’ register.
He said all these agitations emanate from the “lack of credibility” in the register, but when the national ID card exercise is completed, the voters’ register will no longer pose a problem for the country, and that when it is time for voting, voters would be picked from the National ID database.
The Electoral Commission has served notice it will compile a new voters’ register for the 2020 general elections, and secured budgetary approval for the exercise late December.
Apostle Kwadwo Safo (Apostle Emeritus Professor Kwadwo Safo Kantanka) was honoured with an honorary fellowship of the Akwafo Hall of the University of Ghana for his “catalytic achievements” and in recognition of his achievements.
Apostle Safo outdoored two of his new creations – the Kantanka-Mo, a 40-footer personalised aeroplane-like vehicle with fantastic interior decors and an armoured personnel carrier cum missile launcher named OkofoƆ, along with agricultural products from his farms.
