The end is not in sight for the tortuous journey of the national identification exercise which was set in motion about three years ago. This is a very important national exercise which has in store a lot of benefits for the nation but it is always confronted with what otherwise could be surmountable obstacles.
The latest information released to the public about two weeks ago indicated that the exercise was to be suspended because of lack of funds, an addition to the catalogue of problems that had bedevilled this important national exercise.
Addressing the media in Kumasi, the Head of Public Affairs of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Ms Bertha Dzeble, mentioned that the deployment of field staff to the Brong Ahafo Region had been suspended because the NIA was unable to get supporting funds. She said funding was needed to fuel vehicles to transport field staff, logistics and mobile registration workstations (MRWs) to the Brong Ahafo Region.
The Head of Public Affairs conceded that the postponement would futher extend the exercise which was already behind schedule. What it meant was that the Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions were yet to be covered.
In 2007 or so, when the exercise began, it was the expectation of many Ghanaians that it would be executed early enough to serve as a back-up for the national electoral register in preparation towards the 2008 elections. Alas, that was not to be. Right from the onset, the exercise came against numerous obstacles including lack of logistics and funds to pay personnel recruited for the exercise.
At one stage, the exercise created confusion in the minds of the public because it was taking place alongside the revision of the voters register. In all considerations, Ghanaians were expecting that after Election 2008, enough time and resources would be committed to the national identification exercise to bring it to a fruitful conclusion. However, as things stand now, it is not likely that this exercise will come to an end in the immediate future. Already, the Electoral Commission has started preparation towards the re-opening of the voters register, which will grab its fair share of public funds in addition to the use of common facilities such as registration centres.
As would be expected, the government was likely to put more premium on the voters register at the expense of the identification exercise. But should that be the case? The benefits of a national identity card are numerous to be treated in this shabby manner. The most obvious is the establishment of nationality which will in turn help in the compilation of a voters register and registration under the national health insurance scheme which is already battling with many fraudulent deals.
A well-executed identification exercise should be able to help the government to have a reasonably fair idea about the national population, even better than a national census conducted every 10 years could provide. It would also provide all the demographics like gender, age, profession, distribution and others for the purposes of planning and making projections.
The exercise may not come out with a perfect result, but all the same, it may make it easier for the state to determine nationals from non-nationals, especially, in cases where citizens are entitled to certain reliefs such as subsidies on health, education and agricultural facilities.
The security benefits are many for the security agencies, the banks, other non-financial institutions and many other commercial and public bodies that transact business with the general public.
This is an exercise that should not be handled haphazardly under any circumstance and, therefore, should be given every official support to succeed. So far, government response to the requirements of the National Identification Authority (NIA) has not been the best. It gave the impression either rightly or wrongly that the government was not interested in the national identification register and, therefore, could afford to push its success to the background.
The national identification exercise is too important to be toyed with and no amount should be considered too much for its execution. We have spent more frivolously on less important things and the exercise should not suffer because of that common refrain of lack of funds. More than three years into a national registration exercise without an end in sight is not good.
fokofi@yahoo.co.uk
kofiakordor.blogspot.com
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