If many Ghanaians expressed reservation about the figure of $1.2 billion for the Ghana Card in their rooms and in silence, that will not include Mr Kennedy Agyapong, New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Assin Central, who MyNewsGh.com can confirm has lashed out at the “fraud” being perpetrated by Prof Ken Attafuah, head of National Identification Authority (NIA) on the project when an amount of 50 million dollars could be used to execute the same job.
“Are we crazy? 1.2 Billion DOLLARS for Ghana Card? Are you out of your mind? Are we crazy? This is thievery. They are disgracing Akufo-Addo and it really pains me. Are we crazy in this country? I speak for Ghana, I don In India, their population is 1.2 billion people and they used the same amount for a similar project. Ghana we are “A poor country like Ghana?”
The above, MyNewsGh.com can confirm, are just a few of the words of Honourable Kennedy Agyapong, NPP MP for Assin Central who is angry about the decision by the government to use 1.2 billion dollars for the National Identification Project (Ghana Card). Read on to know what more he said regarding the deal.
Weeks ago, it was reported that Ghana’s National Identification Card, the Ghana Card procured by the National Identification Authority (NIA) costs the country $1.22 billion dollars (or GhC5.5 billion cedis) over a 15 year period, as MyNewsGh.com reported.
This figure came from the Executive Director of the NIA, Prof Ken Attafuah himself, who was speaking to TV3 on the registration exercise, which was to begin yesterday, but failed to take off.
“Over the next 15years, this project is going to cost us as a nation $1.22 billion”. He had said.
He explained that the project is a “Design-Build-Operate-Transfer” agreement which will see both government and the private partner make some financial commitments.
“The private partners share of this burden is 678 million dollars, the government of Ghana component 531 million dollars,” he said.
Kennedy Agyapong said $1.2 Billion is fraud Ken Attafuah is perpetrating and must be stopped before they spend the money.
“I took a company to NIA that was willing to do the Ghana Card for $50million. NIA rejected the offer and is currently spending $1.2billion on the Ghana Card. The NPP cannot defend the $1.2 billion for the Ghana Cards. They cannot!”, he thundered in rage over the fraud in the midst of poverty in a country where people meet him in traffic and cry their heart out for only 200 cedis help.
Non-Disclosure
Our readers will recall Prof. Attafuah refused to disclose how much government has so far allocated for the project said except to say “We have sufficient money to begin the process today”. He added, rather pointedly, that “I cannot tell you how much we have because when you need money, the money is made available to you”.
He, however, noted, “Six months after we have started, the government will make money available as and when it is required”. The nationwide registration exercise which will be from one region to the other will also see the NIA register Ghanaians in the diaspora
Background
The Ghana Card project, which seeks to modernize and formalize the Ghanaian economy, was one of the campaign promises of the New Patriotic Party.
Government has said it will in the establishment of a credible national database and serve as the primary ID card that citizens will use to access all services in the country, including even travelling within the West African sub-region.
When fully implemented the Ghana Card will be the only valid ID for application for a bank account, passport, telephone number, property acquisition, driver’s license and many more.