Kwesi Attah Baiden, the deputy chief executive officer of Margins ID Group, says the issuance of unique numbers to newborns as part of the country’s National Identification Registry is timely.
That, he explained, the registration numbers would be linked to details of mothers which would help eliminate the phenomenon of missing babies.
Baiden said this during a private sector-Parliament stakeholders’ engagement between the Management and Staff of Intelligent Card Production Systems (ICPS), a subsidiary of Margins ID GROUP, producers of the Ghana Card and the Subsidiary Legislation, and the Defence and Interior Committees of Parliament in Tema on Wednesday.
The delegation of about 38 Members of Parliament (MPs) was led by Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, Chairperson to the Subsidiary Committee and a National Democratic Congress MP for Bolgatanga East and Madam Ophelia Mensah Hayford, vice-chairperson to the Defence and Interior Committee and also a New Patriotic Party MP for Mfantseman.
The visit focused on the facility’s 20-year history of manufacturing tasks.
The MPs also observed the real-time production of the Ghana Card to gain a comprehensive understanding of the project.
Vice-President Dr Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia Thursday (14 March) launched the policy which would see every newborn issued with a unique number until the baby attains 15 when a card will be issued.
Baiden said: “When you are a woman and you are pregnant you will sign in a number and after you are given birth your child’s details are linked to the mother’s details. The child’s details and the special number that was issued to the child are going to be attached to the mother’s biometric.”
“So the things and days of people stealing other people’s babies at the hospitals are going to be a thing of the past,” he said.
“…When the child gets to six years old by that time the biometric is fully developed. So at that time, they are going to be issued the Ghana card. However, this will be done in consent with Ghana Health Service and other governmental agencies because it has to be fully integrated,” the deputy CEO explained.
Moses Kwesi Baiden Jnr, the founder and CEO of Margins ID GROUP and its subsidiaries, briefed the MPs on the Ghana Card project.
He highlighted the government of Ghana’s longstanding efforts that had established a functional National Identification (ID) system, culminating in a successful Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between Margins ID GROUP and the National Identification Authority (NIA) of Ghana.
“This collaboration has resulted in registering over 85% of Ghana’s adult population from 15 and above,” he said.
Baiden elaborated on the PPP framework, where he emphasised the private partner’s role in conceptualising, designing, and building the National ID system.
“…Notably, the private partner has independently funded the project, including financing, and producing all cards in advance for the NIA of Ghana and the government of Ghana,” he told the MPs.
Dr Ayine, the chairman of the subsidiary legislation committee, addressing the media, said the MPs were impressed with the operations of the state-of-the-art factory.
“We are impressed with the complex setup of the company, it is awestruck,” he said.
According to him, the Ghana Card was multifunctional and had several advantages for the country in terms of fiscal stability, the promotion of tax compliance, the registration of businesses, and also social inclusion.
“The card will also cater to areas that have not come to the minds of parliamentarians when it comes to the Ghana card.
“It was important for parliamentarians to be present at the event because it seems the discourse in parliament about the Ghana card has always been about its application to politics, such as the registration of voters and its use in elections,” he said.
Dr Ayine noted that the engagement had shown the Committee that the Ghana Card went beyond the uni-directional utilisation that had often been portrayed.
He called for intensive public education on the various uses of the card, that would minimise criticisms associated with the card.
“Visiting the company has allowed me to disabuse my mind of the negative things some people say about the company,” he told the media.
On her part, Ophelia Mensah Hayford, the vice-chairperson of the defence and interior committee, said the engagement had afforded her the opportunity to understand the process the company went through to print the Ghana Card.
“With this educational and fruitful discourse, we can speak authoritatively with facts to dispel negative information some people say about the project.
“MPs present here are going back with a deeper understanding of the intricacies of the Ghana Card, especially regarding the processes that technicians undergo to produce the card, including certain unique security features,” she said.
William Owuraku Aidoo, outgoing deputy minister for energy, expressing his amazement by the biometric verification demonstrations at the event said the exercise had successfully dispelled misconceptions among the MPs regarding several issues related to the Ghana Card.
Owuraku Aidoo, also the MP for Afigya Kwabre South, advocated further education on the Ghana Card.
The delegation also toured the facility and witnessed the Ghana Card production process firsthand.
There was also a demonstration of security features and rigorous testing procedures.
ICPS is a multiple award-winning manufacturing arm of Margins ID GROUP, which holds certifications at the highest global standards, including ISO 9001:2015, PCI Security Standards Council, Europay, MasterCard, and Visa.
It stands as the only facility in sub-Saharan Africa certified by Integraf at the central banking level.
Founded in 1990, Margins ID GROUP provides print and document finishing to the Ghanaian market.
For three decades, government agencies, private organisations and financial institutions have relied on Margins ID GROUP for innovative, secure, and scalable identity solutions and services.
The Group’s identity management solutions empower organisations to facilitate business growth and increase profit while minimising risk.
Margins ID GROUP has the vision of being a global leader in identification, data and documentation systems, transactions and solutions with the mission of securely connecting identities and solutions in a materialised and de-materialised world.
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