…As Ghanaians Vouch For Foreigners
NIA urges Ghanaians to stop vouching for Foreigners for Ghana card
By Alex Baah Boadi, GNA, with additional files from Editorial Team
The National Identification Authority (NIA) was set up with the sole purpose of creating a data system that could identify true Ghanaians.
To that end, government claims to have sunk in billions of dollars of funds belonging to the people of Ghana with the sole purpose of creating an unassailable database of Ghanaians, which can be used as a developmental tool.
That vision, however, is in grave danger of floundering amidst reports that Ghanaians are vouching for foreigners to take up Ghanaian identity through the instrumentality of the Ghana Card.
This means that contrary to the intended purpose, the Ghana Card has the potential of granting Ghanaian nationality to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of foreigners who would not have had that right, in the absence of the Ghana Card.
Alex Baah Boadi, a reporter of the Ghana News Agency (GNA), reports from Sefwi-Wiawso(WN/R) that Mr Kwame Donkor, Western North Regional Registration Officer for the National Identification Authority(NIA), has cautioned Ghanaians, especially those who live at the border towns to desist from vouching for non-Ghanaians to acquire Ghana cards.
Mr Kwame Donkor said such actions had negative consequences and urged Ghanaians to seek the interest of the country and desist from the practice.
He warned that it was against the laws of Ghana to engage in such practices and stressed that anyone caught would face the full rigor of the law.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Wiawso on the Operations of NIA, Mr Donkor said the National Identification Authority started operating in the nine Districts in the Region towards the end of 2021.
He said all the districts were now fully operational and commended the Regional Minister for his efforts in getting the Authority accommodation to kick start its work.
He advised the public against paying money for the acquisition of a Ghana card and urged the citizens to report anyone who demanded money from them to the Security Agencies.
If Mr Kwame Donkor is tto be believed, therefore, the sanctity of the Ghana Card is in grave danger, and may end up creating a worse situation that it initially found on the ground, since it would end up creating Ghanaian nationality for hundreds of thousands of foreigners along Ghana’s borders.
GNA
