Deputy Attorney General Godfred Dame has said a birth certificate rather gives a record of birth and not a proof of Ghanaian citizenship.
His comment follows the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision ruling out birth certificate as a form of identification.
“A birth certificate is not a form of identification. It does not establish the identity of the bearer. Nor does it link the holder with the information on the certificate. Quite obviously, it provides no evidence of citizenship,” the Supreme Court verdict said in part.
Godfred Dame told Joy News that information on birth certificates is not enough to prove that a person is a Ghanaian since the information there is not verifiable.
He said the document to proof one’s ‘Ghanaian-ness’ is by going through the National Identification Authority’s process of acquiring a Ghana Card.
In the event of a challenge of one’s citizenship, a certificate of citizenship issued by the Interior Minister after investigations under laws of the country is the only way to confirm one’s citizenship, he added.
“The fact that you are born on the land of Ghana does not mean you are a citizen.
“When it is stated here [on birth certificate] your mother is a Ghanaian or your father is a Ghanaian when there has not been any verification…it cannot be evidence of citizenship,” the Deputy A-G stated
A birth cert doesn’t make you a Ghanaian- SC rules
The Supreme Court has dismissed the use of a birth certificate as proof of Ghanaian citizenship.
This was the unanimous position of the seven justices after they mulled over a suit brought by a private citizen, Mark Takyi Banson.
While the NDC case wanted the current voter's ID card to be used in the registration exercise, Mr. Banson made a case for the inclusion of birth certificate insisting it proves the identity of prospective voters as Ghanaians who have turned 18.
The Apex Court dismissed these reliefs and deferred its full judgment to July 15. A copy of the judgment sighted by joynews explains why the Birth certificate was rejected.
The decision written by Justice Ashie Kotey states that a birth certificate does not link its holder to the information it contains. It adds that it provides no evidence of citizenship.
The court compares it to another document it has already rejected; the National Health Insurance Cards and concludes it’s actually better than the Birth Certificate.
It is worthwhile to note that the birth certificate is used as a source document for various registrations including passports which are currently being used in voter registration.
Source: ghanaweb
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TO ACQUIRE NATIONAL ID IN WELL ADVANCED COUNTRIES YOU MAY NEED THE COMBINATION OF SOME DOCUMENTS SUCH AS - BIRTH CERT OR PASSPORT, NATURALIZATION CERT. EMPLOYMENT DOCUMENT, RESIDENT CARD, SOCIAL SECURITY CARD, BANK STATEMENT. ANY OF SUCH DOCUMENTS ARE ACQUIRED BY ESTABLISHING THE PROOF OF ONE'S IDENTITY TO SOME EXTENT. THEN IN ADDITIONAL TO PROVIDING THEM YOU ATTEST TO SOME REQUIRED INFORMATION, TOGETHER WITH YOUR BIO DATA, PHOTO AND ADDRESS. THE NATIONAL ID IS GENERALLY PROVIDED TO TRANSACT ALL BUSINESS.YOU DON'T DO THAT WITH NEITHER THE BIRTH CERT, THE NATURALIZATION CERT. THE RESIDENT CARD, THE BANK CARD, NOR YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE CARD. ANY ONE OF THEM IS NEEDED WITH THE NATIONAL ID TO DO SOME SPECIFIC TRANSACTION. NOT ANY OF THEM IS USED, WITHOUT THE NATIONAL ID, AS A PROOF OF IDENTITY FOR CITIZENSHIP OR AS FOREIGNER. TO ACQUIRE VOTERS ID YOU NEED YOUR NATIONAL ID, YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER AND YOUR ADDRESS. ONE CAN THEREFORE DISCERN THE WISDOM OF THE SC JUDGEMENT AS BEING IN AGREEMENT WITH SUCH A WELL PROVEN PRACTICE.
BIRTH CERTIFICATE GIVES A RECORD OF BIRTH OF A PERSON THERE IS NOTHING OF BIO DATA NOR PICTURE THAT BIND A PERSON TO BIRTH CERTIFICATE. BIRTH CERTIFICATES ALONE IS NOT VALID TO ACQUIRING NATIONAL CARD AND PASSPORT BIRTH CERTIFICATE WITH OTHER DOCUMENTS, INFORMATION AND BIO DATA AND PHOTO OF A PERSON BECOMES VALID TO PROVE OF CITIZENSHIP. SO TO ACQUIRE NATIONAL CARD OR PASSPORT YOU NEED BIRTH CERTIFICATE, BIO DATA, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND PHOTO TO PROVE IDENTIFICATION OF CITIZENSHIP. THERE IS NO CONFLICT IN SC JUDGEMENT. NOW IF YOU WANT DRIVING LICENCE NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE CARD, BANK CREDIT CARD OR OPEN ACCOUNT AT BANK OR GET VOTE'S CARD YOU GET IT WITH NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD OR PASSPORT. YOU DONT GET ANY OF THE THEM WITH BIRTH CERT. SIPLICITA.
Infact, Ghana is in a perilous times indeed and only God Almighty can save us. Birth certificate is now only a record but not a proof of citizenship. This means birth certificates needed to complete certain documentations will no longer be a strict requirements. The robotic Supreme Court having ruled against the use of birth certificate in the on-going registration exercise has now made the ruling a law. Which direction is the country heading and who can deliver this country from tyrants, vampires, gold diggers and nation wreckers?