Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has described the issuance of the National Identification card scheduled for September, as a panacea to the major problems faced in passport acquisition and renewal.
Interacting with the Ghanaian community during his State visit to China, Dr Bawumia noted that it would resolve the issue of who qualifies to obtain a passport in Ghana and undue delays in the renewal of the document.
Most Ghanaians have complained about the troubles they have to go through when renewing or trying to acquire a passport. As early as 3am people have to queue just to acquire passport, which has eventually led to the introduction of biometric system of applying for passport.
Revelations that a notorious Nigerian kidnapper arrested in Nigeria has a Ghanaian passport together with his wife and two children that live in Ghana have raised serious questions about the integrity of the identification processes in passport acquisition in the country.
The New Patriotic Party during the campaign season promised to implement a National Identification system to help curb all related identification problems in the country.
Dr Bawumia is convinced the implementation of the ID system will be the best solution to the problem.
The national ID will be linked to the databases of institutions such as the Police, National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Passport Office, Immigration, courts, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA).