The comprehensive advantages of this national identification card extend to mitigating identity fraud and age cheating, fostering transformative change within the socio-economic landscape.
During his address on the digital economy at the 20th edition of the Ghana Club 100 Awards on Saturday, December 9, Dr. Bawumia underscored the multifaceted benefits of the Ghana Card in navigating the complexities of the informal economy.
The card's ability to counter age cheating, identity fraud, and the proliferation of counterfeit documents like insurance papers, birth certificates, and passports marks a transformative breakthrough in addressing such issues emphasizing the indispensable role of the private sector in driving economic progress and reiterated the government's unwavering commitment to supporting its growth.
Dr. Bawumia elucidated that the ongoing digitalization initiative serves as a cornerstone in the formalization process, with the Ghana Card playing a pivotal role as its anchor.
“One of the areas that we can help our private sector immensely is to transition from the informal economy that we have in many countries, especially in Ghana. When we came into office we were facing some major challenges in the area of informal economy. Before you can build an economy that is going to be transformational, you need to take care of major problems that are in the informal economy.
“You look at an economy in the informal sense which turned to be undisciplined, the society is undisciplined because the economy is informal and there are no consequences for bad actions, you have a society where corruption prevails, you have lawlessness, you have a tax dodging society, you have an unbanked society, you have a loan repayment dodging society, identity fraud, people assuming identities of others, lack of address systems, age cheating, fake insurance, fake birth certificates, fake passports, no functional address systems, ghost workers on government payrolls.
“These ills of the informal economy that we inherited made it very difficult for the economy to transform to its potential. That is why we set out to formalize the economy to make sure that the economy works in a transparent system. In that area of formalization of the economy, we realized heavily on digitalization of the economy to formalize the economy.
“This is why we have been moving sturdily and we have made a lot of progress in this particular area. Of course, the anchor for the digitalization program has been the Ghana Card that we issued. Today, we have enrolled over a 17million people on the Ghana Card, today we have linked all bank accounts to the Ghana Card, and linked all SIM cards to the Ghana Card, TIN is your Ghana Card number, NHIS number is your Ghana Card number, today we have linked the Ghana Card to the Controller and Accountant General Department payroll. Today we are increasing this formalization of the economy as a result of digitalization, we are digitalizing all government services through Ghana.gov.gh and so on.
“All these bring transparency and that helps businesses, it makes the system clearer, it reduces corruption because you can get services without actually going to meet anybody who will demand a bribe,”
Vice President Bawumia's acknowledgment of the Ghana Card as a key instrument in tackling challenges within the informal economy reinforces the government's commitment to leveraging technological solutions for national development, it stands as a beacon for promoting a secure, efficient, and formalized economic landscape in Ghana.