Mahama commends Margins ID Group for innovative solutions

President John Dramani Mahama has approved Margins ID Group and commended, Moses Kwesi Baiden Jr, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), for leading the charge in redefining  Ghana’s digital identity landscape through the Ghana Card.

In his speech at the 9th Ghana CEO Summit in Accra last Monday, the President drew to attention on how the Ghana Card had become not just, but also an identity card (ID), saying it had become the foundation of digital independence and competitive economy.

Before the President mounted the podium to deliver the opening address, the CEO of Margins ID Group had delivered his insights on digital ID in a presentation titled, “Digital Identity for Business and Economic Empowerment”. President Mahama said other African nations, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, were looking to replicate Ghana’s model.

President Mahama said “I recently received a request from the DR Congo asking for a reference on Moses and the Ghana Card system. They wanted to know if they had done a good job. I said, yes, they did.” He drew attention to useful advancements such as the planned reintroduction of road tolls, which would be made possible by the Ghana Card.

President revealed that “Every vehicle is now linked to its owner’s Ghana Card. We no longer need old tolls and those cards that you stand and open and all that. We just take a picture of your car, and then it would take the bill to your mobile money or your bank accounts and just pay one cedi.”

Explaining the dynamic integration of the Ghana Card with key government systems like the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Mr Baiden said: “You can input your national ID, conduct biometric verification, and within 300 milliseconds, your data is reflected in the DVLA database.”  

That means that vehicle owners will be registered in their names only and nobody else, as the owner’s driver’s licence will be linked to their real  ID, regardless of registration method.

Mr Baiden stated that “When you are stopped, with or without your driver’s licence, you can be identified as the owner of the car, we can know whether your driving licence has expired, we can know whether your insurance has expired and we can certainly know whether the car you are driving is yours.”

Mr Baiden again said “Since 2012, the Margins-led PPP has enabled Ghana to build and maintain a robust identity infrastructure at scale. This is not theoretical. It is a living, functioning ecosystem of governance, built in the interest of Ghanaians and used every day by both the public and private sectors.”

He advocated for digital  independence saying the country could not depend entirely on foreign tech solution. Mr Baiden added that “We must build, innovate and shape our destiny. The Ghana Card is not just a card; it is the engine of transformation, a gateway to inclusion and a testament to what Ghana can achieve when we apply our intelligence and vision in service of generations yet to be born.”