Members of two parliamentary select committees, Subsidiary Legislation Committee and Defence and Interior, have praised Margins ID Group and its subsidiary Intelligent Card Production System (ICPS) for the succesful rollout of the Ghana Card project.
They made the commendation during a visit to the factory built by Margins Group, which is producing the Ghana Card on Wednesday, March 13, 2024.
The MPs who toured the factory to familiarize themselves with its operations and the facility’s 20-year history of manufacturing, witnessed real-time production of the Ghana Card and gained a comprehensive understanding of the project.
In his welcome address, the Founder and CEO of Margins ID GROUP and its subsidiaries, Moses Kwesi Baiden Jnr, 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 per cent of Ghana’s adult population from 15 and above,” he said.
“…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.
He also denied claims that they have been selling citizen’s data to other parties insisting that the government owns the information and it is accessed solely by the NIA.
“It is illegal for us (Margins Group) to have the data. It is the NIA’s job. The central databases are all owned by the government of Ghana and we work with the government of Ghana as a technical partner…so nobody should be confused as to who owns the Ghana card or the national ID system, it is the government of Ghana,” he explained.
During a presentation, Margin group’s Chief Software Development Officer, Andrew Asamoah, said through their software, they have been able to uncover thousands of fake national IDs in the system.
According to him, they made this discovery after harmonizing data from the Ghana card with other national identity documents including passports, health insurance cards, driver’s licenses, and others.
“We found about 45,000 passports which do not exist in the passport database. We found about 130,000 NHIS cards which do not exist and another 45,000 driver’s licenses which do not exist. The number of SSNIT cards is about 166,000,” he said.
“These documents were presented to NIA during the registration process. We couldn’t detect this in the field because we operate a secure database, the machine can only talk to NIA. So after collecting the information, we then do a connection to these systems to validate what has been collected and that is where we see this information,” he noted.
On his part, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Margins ID GROUP, Kwesi Attah Baiden, said the issuance of unique numbers to newborns as part of the Country’s National Identification Registry is timely.
“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.
Speaking to the media after the tour, the Chairman of the Subsidiary Legislation Committee, Dr. Dominic Ayine, said the MPs were impressed and awestruck with the operations of the state-of-the-art factory.
He noted that the Ghana card is multifunctional and has several advantages for the country in terms of fiscal stability, the promotion of tax compliance, promoting 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.
The Bolgatanga East MP 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 added.
Vice-chair of the Defence and Interior Committee, Ophelia Mensah Hayford, was also impressed with the company and noted that she can now speak authoritatively with facts to dispel negative information some people say about the project.
She mentioned that the MPs present at the event departed 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.
“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.
The outgoing Deputy Minister for Energy, William Owuraku Aidoo, stated that he was amazed by the demonstrations at the event.
He expressed happiness that the exercise had successfully dispelled misconceptions among members of parliament regarding several issues related to the Ghana Card.
Margins ID Group is the private technical partner using its subsidiary ICPS, which helped the National Identification Authority to deliver the Ghana Card project.
Intelligent Card Production Systems (ICPS), a multiple award-winning manufacturing arm of Margins ID Group, 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 to 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.
