Bawumia Begins 3-Day Campaign in Ashanti, Reveals Plans to Make Ghana Card the Only Document Required for Passports from 20252 min read
The Presidential Hopeful of the ruling New Patriotic Party, NPP, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has kick-started his three-day campaign tour of the Ashanti region with an encounter with the members and non-members of the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs.
Addressing the chiefs, Dr. Bawumia announced that, from next year, applicants for a Ghanaian Passport would need only their Ghana Card as proof of nationality to acquire the traveling document to make the acquisition processes simplified from the current cumbersome procedure.
Correspondent Nicholas Osei-Wusu reports that Ashanti is the 16th and final administrative region the Standard Bearer of the NPP is touring since he began the Regional campaign tour.
Ashanti is very important to the NPP because it is traditionally the political stronghold of the party since the start of the 4th Republic in 1992. In the current Parliament, the party occupies 43 out of the 47 Constituency seats.
At the official start of his three-day campaign tour, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia met with members of the Ashanti Regional House of Chiefs chaired by the Mamponhene, Daasebre Osei BONSU, who deputized for the Statutory Live President, the Asantehene.
There were paramount queen mother’s and other Representatives of some traditional areas.
Addressing the traditional leaders, the NPP’s flag bearer traces the history of the NPP and the linkage between the party and the contributions of various traditional leaders especially from the Ashanti region and the MANHYIA Palace.
He said he has been very lucky to have gained enough political experience from the leadership of former President Kufuor and current President, Nana Akufo-Addo.
This is what has positioned him to be adequately prepared to assume political leadership of the country from next year.
He enumerated various initiatives and policies introduced by the present government of which he played a pivotal role.
Dr. Bawumia explaining his role in Ghana’s digitalization agenda, announced that, from next year, any citizen applying for a Ghanaian Passport will only have to produce his or her Ghana Card as proof of citizenship for the traveling document to be printed since all personal and other important details have already been captured in the Ghana Care.
He said about 18 million Ghanaians have so far acquire their Ghana Card translating into 85 percent of the Ghanaian adult population. Already, children at birth can have both birth certificate and their Ghana Card numbers fused together.
Dr.Bawumia said with the introduction of the Free Senior High School programme, Ghana has achieved beyond the anticipated boy-girl parity at the second cycle educational system.
The Vice President assured the chiefs that, his government, if elected, will amend the Chieftaincy Act to give some powers to chiefs to summon erring subject while paying them Living Income, an upward review of the present one thousand Ghana Cedi Allowances they receive.
Payment of the Allowances will as well be extended beyond paramount chiefs to those next in hierarchy.
