Member of Parliament for Bortianor-Ngleshie Amanfrom, Sylvester Tetteh, has entreated Ghanaians to support the country’s digitization drive by not belittling the E-passport initiative.
Speaking on the initiative announced by Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, that the Ghana Card will be used as E-passport from 2022, he appealed that it should not be treated as something that is impossible to achieve.
“People should not belittle this digitization, thinking that the man is just talking. I mean it’s not for nothing”.
Sylvester Tetteh
According to Mr. Tetteh, what the Vice President said about the Ghana Card as E-passport is simple because there are countries that travelers qualify for E-visa, which does not mean travelers won’t need visas to enter such countries.
The lawmaker elaborated that with the Ghana card, one’s passport is uploaded onto it and once that passport is on the Ghana card, it can be verified by the countries Ghanaians are traveling to.
“The status of their visas can be ascertained on the Ghana card. The card is as good as your passport that can verify whether or not you have a visa or otherwise”.
Sylvester Tetteh
Veep didn’t say Ghanaians can travel without visa
Sylvester Tetteh admonished the critics not to misconstrue the Vice President’s statement on Ghana’s inclusion into the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), as one which suggests Ghanaians can travel without a visa in 2022.
He added that even American citizens, with the strength of their passports cannot come to Ghana without a visa. However, if they come and Ghana issues them E-visas, that can be verified on their American card. This is because, it is as good as their American passports.
“That is the point the man was making and that is not rocket science. The Ghana card is as good as your passport because your passport status and everything is uploaded on it”.
Sylvester Tetteh
He cited an example that, if he has his Ghana card and needs a visa to travel to Cameroon and he is issued E-visa that can be recognized by his Ghana card, there will be no need for him to carry his passport along with him but only the card can give him entry into Cameroon because his visa details and status will be on there.
“Your passport is on your Ghana card, you have been issued a visa that can be read on your Ghana card, what prevents you from traveling with it?”
Sylvester Tetteh
Introduction of the E-passport
Mr. Mensah’s comments follow the declaration by the Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia that from 2022 Ghanaians with the Ghana card can travel to about 197 countries without their passports, that has generated a lot of reactions in the country.
The Vice President indicated that this will make travelling for Ghanaians in the diaspora more convenient. Spelling out other benefits of the Ghana card, the Vice President said Ghanaian missions and other embassies abroad will be able to establish the identity of Ghanaians using the Ghana card.
This initiative comes at a time where efforts are ongoing to digitize the nation’s activities. There has been a directive from the Ministry of Communication that only the Ghana card should be used as proof of identity for SIM card re-registration.
Earlier, the Controller and Accountant General’s Department attempted to get government workers to register for the Ghana Card or be denied their salaries. However, they rescinded their decision and postponed the deliberations.
