K Agyapong: Ghana Needs One Sanitized National Database

General Secretary of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Agyapong has charged the Mahama government to equip the National Identification Authority (NIA) as part of plans to curb the lapses in the voter registration exercise. The Electoral Commission has just ended the registration process, which saw several Ghanaians being eligible to vote, come 2016 partaking in the exercise. Though peaceful, the exercise was characterized by some misconduct as fake identities and minors trooping into the various polling centers to register were recorded. Speaking in an interview with host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM, Kwabena Agyapong vehemently called for the re-introduction of the National Identification exercise. According to him, it is about time the NIA was well-resourced to run an effective National Identification programme to record the data of every Ghanaian citizen. The NIA has supported calls for all biometric identification to be placed under one umbrella so as to save the country lots of money. To the NIA, the move will instil sanity in the issuance of ID cards to the citizenry. Currently, the EC, Passport Office and NHIS are all producing similar cards that the National Identification Authority is producing, which is the "National ID." Addressing the issue, Mr. Agyapong advocated the use of National ID cards, stating the cards should be the final authority. In his conviction, the issuance of NHIS and other biometric cards are a complete "waste of Ghana's resources." He explained that the National IDs will help avoid any attempt to allow minors and foreigners to record their names in the voters' register. He therefore called on the Government of Ghana and the National Identification Authority to revise their notes, ensuring that the NIA becomes the "resource base for all data." “We can do it. We need to think about it. I think we will need one sanitized national database...Let’s utilized the National Identification" programme, he said; stating emphatically that "there’s too much wastage in this country. We should cut the waste and run the country efficiently. “We have to start the process now. We need a new Ghanaian and a new way of thinking,” Kwabena Agyapong said.

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com