A legal practitioner, Mr Francis Kwarteng Arthur, has filed an application challenging the refusal of officials of the National Identification Authority (NIA) to register him for a Ghana Card due to his inability to produce a digital address.
Counsel had sometime in July 2018 attempted to register but was turned away because he did not have a digital address.
He has, accordingly, filed an application at the Human Rights Division of the High Court for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights.
Mr Arthur is praying the court to declare that his right to administrative justice and to equality or non-discrimination, have been, are being or are likely to be violated by the NIA and the second respondent, the Attorney-General.
He is also seeking an order of prohibition restraining the respondents from further interfering with or violating his rights.
Again, he wants the court to grant an order of mandamus compelling the NIA and its agents to register him without a digital address.
Facts
On or before July 2018, the NIA announced through the GBA that it had commenced the registration process for the members of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) in Accra.
The applicant, a member of the GBA, upon the announcement, went to subject himself to the NIA’s registration processes with the ultimate aim of obtaining a card.
According to the applicant, at the registration workstation in Accra, the officials of the NIA, purporting to be acting in accordance with the law, requested his digital address code.
He said he could not provide the officials with the digital address code, resulting in the officials refusing to register him for the issue of a card.
All attempts by the applicant to get the officials of the NIA to enter his particulars onto the register and issue him with a card proved futile, the statement of case noted.
Argument
The applicant, who is representing himself in court, filed the application for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights based on the rejection.
According to the applicant, his right to administrative justice had been subjected to illegality, misapprehension of law, unreasonableness and discrimination.
“My Lord may take judicial notice of the public discussion that welcomed the launching of the “digital address code” system in 2017.
Nonetheless, our research on the “digital address code” reveals the following: it is powered by a mobile phone software application known as the GhanaPostGPS.
“GhanaPostGPS is an Internet-enabled system of using the Global Position System (GPS) technology – a satellite-based radio-navigational system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Air Force,” the statement of case pointed out.
The applicant is arguing that for one to get a digital address, three things namely: A smart phone; a good internet access and the skill and ability to use the GhanaPostGPS smart phone application must be employed.
“If the state has any way of helping people to generate their digital address codes, it has not yet made that way accessible to Ghanaians.
Therefore, individuals are burdened with the duty of generating their own “digital address codes” as it stands,” the statement of case argued.
The applicant is arguing that the requirement, as it stood, had to be in a certain social or economic class.
“Considered from this perspective, it becomes quite imperative that if the respondents are allowed to continue using the digital address code as an eligibility criterion for registering persons for the card, an overwhelming number of citizens will be denied access to the card.
Source: Daily Graphic
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
Is this really a lawyer ??? Did he study law ?? I think he only wants his name to be heard and that's all.
I'm glad this matter is going to court to test the fraudulent nature of some of our laws. As someone who teaches information systems, i.e. social study, analysis, design and use of systems of technology, I'm inclined to support the lawyer. The people in charge of implementing large-scale information systems projects in our part of the world need to understand certain crucial issues, especially in respect of this GP GPS in such areas as: 1. Which part of this world did people have to generate their own address? Before you settle in any geographical location, the address is already marked out...people don't go about providing addresses of the places they live before they get registered...this has a potential for feeding our national database with dodgy information. 2. What about if I'm not IT illiterate or even worse still I'm an out and out illiterate? Does that mean I won't get a national ID that I'm naturally entitled to? 3. Has the government provided a smart phone to everyone on the land? So that even if I'm literate and I've a YAM phone (non-smart phones) I stand no chance of getting a digital address) 4. Does the government expect criminals to register the location to get the whole world know where they live? 5. The GP GPS software requires people to stand in front of their house to be able to pick the right coordinates for the generation of one's digital address. What about if a someone comes to stand in front of another person's house and generate their address? Is anyone aware of the likely security implications? There are other allied issues but I think that whole software that we spent millions of dollars in taxpayers'money to acquire is going to turn a white elephant, at some point. Please let's begin from the basics and get the foundations of the address system in this country right. Otherwise some of theses systems of technology we implement across the nation would always fail... I can't wait to hear the determination of this case!
Whats does it take to acquire digital address ? Whats a waste of time, I hope the court slaps him with a huge fine so he stops foo ling.
It is sad everybody calls himself a Lawyer. Lawyer Kwartenf Arthur claims it is his fundamental human right to register. There is no human rights anywhere that one should register as a Ghanaian, a Nigeriarian or American or a citizen of any nation without satisfying approved requirement. It is the Act of Ghana Parliamen that has made provision for Ghanaians to register according to laws enacted for the registration. So if Kwarteng Arthur wants to enjoy the benefits of the registration as a Ghanaian then he must meet the requirement set out to be satisfied for that registration. The law to qualify as a registered member of any nation are enacted to address the challenges pertaining to that nation. He cannot be a law to himself and choose to do what pleases him. Such attitude, if it is adopted any other will bring chaos to make the registration fiasco. In America you cannot register without residential address with a Zip Code. And it is like that in many places. Mr. Kwarteng Arthur should know that we build a better society through adoption and application of best practises elsewhere.