Ghana Card Manufacturers Highlight On E-Passport
Ghana Card Manufacturers Highlight On E-Passport
Ghana Card Manufacturers Highlight On E-Passport.
After the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) approved the Ghana Card, the company that made it, Margins ID Group, gave a detailed explanation of the e-passport features on the card.
Moses Baiden, the Chief Executive Officer of Margins, told the media at a recent stakeholders forum in Accra that the Ghana Card has three secure identity profiles, one of which is the electronic passport (e-passport), which meets the highest international standards after being certified by ICAO over a year ago.
Moses Baiden also said that the e-passport on the Ghana Card has all the important information that is written on the biodata page of a paper passport, such as the holder’s name, date of birth, and other biographical information.
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The Ghana Card has a unique electronic chip that, according to the CEO of Margins, holds a set of read-only files with complex cryptographic mechanisms that protect the security of the document and the privacy of the passport user.
“The biographic and biometric data contained in the electronic chip on the Ghana Card can therefore be compared to both the traveller and the travel document (paper passport) being presented respectively. There are multiple layers of security in the e-passport that prevent duplication.”
“The e-passport on the Ghana Card meets the highest ICAO international standards at par with the most advanced countries”, he explained.
He added that the Ghana Card has three profiles on the chip that can be used to interface with any international application.
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“The three are ICAO Document 9303 Passport Profile, which means it is a machine readable travel document; an electronic ID (e-ID) Profile and a Match On Card (MOC) Profile, which facilitates secure connection to digital platforms and enables authenticated users to complete e-government or e-commerce transactions.”
The CEO of Margins also said that even mobile devices have e-IDs that offer convenience, security, and efficiency, but that may not be enough in all situations. This is where the Ghana Card comes in handy, because it takes into account specific needs like technological capabilities, legal requirements, and trust factors related to specific situations.
In November 2021, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, said for the first time that the Ghana Card had been made as a travel document and that ICAO would certify it as such.
But his claim was said to be impossible. However, after a few weeks of public debate, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is in charge of certifying what can be used for international travel, certified the Ghana Card as meeting the standards at a ceremony at ICAO’s headquarters.
After being approved by ICAO, the Ghana Card can be used as a passport alternative to travel to Ghana from any international airport in the world. Many Ghanaians have already used the card to travel from other countries to Ghana and from Ghana to West African countries where visas are not needed.
For Ghanaians traveling from Ghana to other countries (outside of West Africa) to be able to use the Ghana Card instead of their hard passports, Ghana’s government will have to make bilateral agreements with those countries for the issuance of electronic visas instead of visas printed on a normal passport.
How important is the Ghana Card?
The CEO of Margins said that every person should have a Ghana Card because it means that Ghanaians now own their own data.
“Agencies and organizations can only see the information that the law allows them to see in order to do their jobs.”
“Registering from birth means that people can’t lie about their age anymore, that the voter list is clean, and that the population count is accurate, among other things.” No more football age, no more fake names on the voter list, and no more ghost names on the government salary.”
The CEO hoped that the Ghana Card could also make Ghana the most digitally advanced country and business in the world. This is because the Ghana Card is the foundation of Ghana’s digitalization drive.
Every Ghanaian now has to show their Ghana Card to get a visa, driver’s license, insurance policy, and other services like land registration, SIM card registration, paying taxes, SSNIT, banking, pension, and other services.
Whether or not Ghana Card is real
Since it is impossible to have two sets of genetic data for the same person, the Ghana Card has been called a real source of unique identification and truth.
He said, “This is the basis for securely verifying people in real time and from a distance.”
“One person can’t have two real Ghana Cards, and a fake Ghana Card can’t get around the verification system unless the person uses the card somewhere where verification isn’t needed.”
As of August of this year, more than 17.46 million Ghanaians had signed up for the Ghana Card.
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