All is set for
the historic issuance of National Identification numbers, better known as Ghana
Card numbers, to newborn babies in Ghana, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has
announced.
This follows the
successful integration of the databases of the Births and Deaths Registry, the
National Identification Authority and the Ghana Health Service.
The Vice
President, who made the disclosure on Saturday, July 22, 2023, said the first
such Ghana Card number was issued to a newborn baby on Friday, July 21, 2023,
after a successful test run of the system.
“The work of
integrating the databases has been completed, The full test was done yesterday,
and I am happy to say that the first Ghana Card number for a baby was issued
yesterday.”
“So in the next
month or two, all babies born in Ghana, once they take them to Weigh In, will
be issued the Ghana Card number and also get their Birth Certificate
Identification number at the same time, because the two databases are talking
to each other. The nationality of the parents will be established as part of
the process.”
“This is very
transformational,” Dr Bawumia noted, explaining that they will have these
numbers from the time they are babies till they pass away.
Officials of the
National Identification Authority (NIA) say cards bearing the biometrics and
other data will be issued to the children when they are older after their
digits and other features are fully formed.
Speaking in Cape
Coast at the 75th Anniversary celebrations of Ghana National College, Dr
Bawumia emphasized that the issuance of ID numbers at birth was an integral
part of Government’s ongoing digitalization agenda, designed to prepare the
nation to fully partake in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The Ghana Card
is increasingly becoming the single source of proof of identity, with the
unique number serving several purposes including the Social Security, Health
Insurance and Tax Identification number.
Ghana National College
Hailing the
impact Ghana National College has had on Ghana’s pre-and post-colonial life,
Vice President Bawumia challenged management, staff and students in educational
institutions to embrace the possibilities offered by Artificial Intelligence
(AI) to improve teaching, problem-solving and critical thinking, noting that it
could be deployed meaningfully to bridge the gap between the developed and
developing world.
“If we are in
agreement that the boys and girls in our schools today are being trained to
compete on the global stage, there is every justification for our students to
be given exposure to AI.
“Government’s
ongoing digitalization agenda is ample testimony of its appreciation of AI and
the commitment to ensure that this country is not left behind.”
“We have focused
on pursuing digitalisation as part of our economic strategy because the Fourth
Industrial Revolution is upon us and we must be part of the modern world.”
“Whilst
Government will do its part by leading the charting of a pathway to the deployment
of meaningful AI in our national life, I expect our educational authorities to
devise and deploy innovative teaching strategies that factor in ICT as a key
ingredient,” he added.
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