A Member of Parliament’s Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee and MP for South Dayi, Rockson Dafeamakpor has said that the Supreme Court’s ruling on the birth certificate undermines the power of parliament to make and amend laws.
Speaking in an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning show, he disclosed that the Supreme Court’s ruling had gone against the amendment of the National Identity Register Act, 2008 where parliament approved that the Authority shall require an individual who applies for an entry to be made in the register to submit the birth certificate as identification.
“The court made a categorical statement that the birth certificate cannot identify you. It added that the content of the birth certificate cannot in any way be linked to the bearer of the birth certificate. On that basis, it is impossible to use it as identification.
In 2017 and 2018, this Government presented a law to parliament to amend the National Identity Register Act 2008; a law that has allowed the NIA to register people and issue the National Identification Card for both Ghanaians and foreigners. The law was brought to parliament and it was approved which includes that anyone who wants to attain a national identification card must present his or her birth certificate. The other alternatives are using a passport or getting a guarantor who already has the National ID.
So when the Supreme Court judges made this ruling, it seems they had forgotten about the law that was passed in parliament. Parliament cannot pass a law on birth certificate only for the Supreme Court to reverse it and that is disturbing”.
The South Dayi MP noted that the same direction on the use of birth certificates was given to the Electoral Commission, however, the EC opted for the use of a passport, the national identification card or a guarantor who already possesses the new voter’s card in its registration process.
Rockson Dafeamakpor hinted that the NDC may seek a review on the Supreme Court’s ruling as he describes it as a ‘disturbing’ ruling.
In 2017, the Parliament of Ghana passed an Act to amend the National Identity Register Act,2008 (ACT 750) “to make further provisions for the mode of applications for identity cards, provide for the conditions and requirements for registration, prescribe information to be supplied by persons whom national identity cards are to be issued and for related matters”.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah