The Minister For Communications and Digitalisation, Hon Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MPs are responsible for the failure of some Ghanaians not having the Ghana Card till date.
She asked them to stop the unnecessary criticism on the government for not able to issue Ghana Cards to every citizen, alluding that they are partly to be blamed.
Madam Ursula stated the opposition MPs staged a nationwide campaign against the registration exercise, by urging their members and Ghanaians to boycott it.
She observed that has been the reason behind number of the people without the Ghana Card.
In 2017, the government of Ghana introduced electronic chip-based national identification known as Ghana Card to be the primary identification document for the country.
The opposition NDC members, per to Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful, sabotaged the initiative.
She told Parliament yesterday, December 6, 2022, “It is absolutely imperative we be factual as Members of this House when we are making our statements because this is a House of records.”
“Yes, you were opposed to the Ghana Card registration exercise.
“You urged Ghanaians and your members to boycott the exercise. Some of them did and the result is that they do not have the Ghana Card today to complete this national exercise.
“If some blame needs to be assigned, you are part of the blame for going down that path which unfortunately is causing certain Ghanaians some discomfort.”
Hon Ursula was responding to accusation by the Ranking Member of the Communications Committee, Alhassan Bashir Alhassan Fuseini, that she was implementing a bad policy by deactivating unregistered SIM cards.
She had cautioned earlier that all unregistered SIM cards would be deactivated at the end of November, an extension to the previously announced deadline of the end of October.
All SIM cards which completed the first stage of the registration exercise, leaving second phase are blocked from accessing data services after the deadline, and these are due for complete deactivation.
She noted, “Now, what we need to do is to see how we will work together to facilitate the acquisition of the card so that this exercise will be completed or make alternative arrangements for this exercise to be completed.”
“It is also a fact the National Identity Register Regulation indicates that for SIM card registration, the only identity document which will be acceptable for SIM card registration among other transactions is the Ghana Card.
“By a subsidiary legislation which was brought to this House and passed, we accepted that we will only use the Ghana Card for SIM registration. It is not Ursula Owusu-Ekuful who made that law; it is the Parliament of Ghana which passed the subsidiary legislation.”
She stressed the NDC, led by their General Secretary Asiedu Nketia, issued a public statement, urging Ghanaians to boycott the Ghana Card registration exercise.
“Are you not NDC MPs; are you denying your own party’s position now? If you repent of that position, say so and let Ghanaians know; that the position you took three, four years ago, you have now come back to full circle,” she lamented.
She reminded the house, “On the floor of this House, they also indicated that they were not going to participate in the Ghana Card registration, including Muntaka. They said they were all doctored cards.”
The minister added that when the National Identification Authority came to set up in Parliament to register MPs, the NDC parliamentarians refused to register.
