President John Dramani Mahama has directed all ministries, departments, agencies, and metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to suspend the procurement and use of independent biometric Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS).
The directive, issued from the Office of the President, forms part of government’s measures to ensure efficient resource utilization, data security, and standardization of biometric identification systems across state institutions.
The statement said the moratorium is based on the National Identification Authority Act (Act 707), the National Identity Register Act (Act 750) and its amendments, as well as the Data Protection Act (Act 843).
It reinforces the exclusive mandate of the National Identification Authority (NIA) to register and issue national identity cards (Ghana Cards) to citizens and eligible foreign nationals.
The statement recalled a similar moratorium issued by the Office of the President on June 18, 2019, and emphasized that all new or ongoing biometric projects outside the NIA system must cease immediately.
The government has built a verification platform under the National Identification System (NIS) to authenticate identities via the Ghana Card, prevent biometric duplication, enhance data interoperability and integrity, cut database costs, and boost national ID security.
The directive applies to all government institutions, public corporations, and regulatory bodies.
Source: Myxyzonline.com
