John Mahama (R) exchanging pleasantries with Moses Baiden
President John Dramani Mahama has endorsed Margins ID Group and its CEO, Moses Kwesi Baiden Jr., for their pioneering role in reshaping Ghana’s digital identity landscape through the Ghana Card.
Speaking at the 9th Ghana CEO Summit in Accra, the President, in a statement on “Digital Identity for Business and Economic Empowerment,” highlighted how the Ghana Card has become much more than just an ID but the backbone of a digitally sovereign and competitive economy.
President Mahama also indicated that other African nations, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, were looking to replicate Ghana’s model, and 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.”
The President, who mentioned practical innovations like the planned reintroduction of road tolls, said that every vehicle is now linked to its owner’s Ghana Card and will no longer need the old toll, but a system where people could pay through mobile money or bank accounts.
Moses Baiden also highlighted the real-time integration of the Ghana Card with key government systems like the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), “where people could input their national ID, conduct biometric verification, and within 300 milliseconds, data is reflected in the DVLA database.”
“This means that if you buy a vehicle, it will be your vehicle and nobody else’s vehicle. Your driving license will be connected to your real ID, whether you register remotely or in person, with or without your driving license, you can be identified as the owner of the car, we can know whether your driving license has expired, we can know whether your insurance has expired, and we can certainly know whether the car you are driving is yours,” he noted.
He explained that enforcement becomes seamless, whether people carry their physical license or not, describing the Ghana Card as the “infrastructure of trust” needed for modern governance, economic growth, and social inclusion.
“Today, a citizen can access services 24/7 because they can prove who they are, make payments, receive deliveries, or even open a bank account instantly with facial verification,” he disclosed.
Mr. Baiden pointed to the transformation at the DVLA as a case study where the Ghana Card could be linked to the biometric verification, and data as far back as 1972 has been digitised.
“Now, we can predict revenues for the next decade, validate insurance and driving licenses on the go, and ensure vehicle ownership is verifiable in real time,” he stressed.
He mentioned that in the health sector, babies are now issued national ID numbers at birth, National Health Insurance Authority could now bridge data gaps, eliminate fraudulent claims, and enable targeted healthcare planning, while medical records could now be securely stored in the cloud, accessible in emergencies through credentialed doctors, saving lives and improving service delivery.
He also emphasised that such transformation does not only extend to National Security, Police and Immigration Service but the Intelligence Services, who could now generate and act on instant search lists to track suspects across borders.
“Our systems can verify identities with or without the physical card, using only fingerprints. The days of unidentified victims in mortuaries are behind us.
“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 added.
He further reinforced the critical role the Margins-led public-private partnerships (PPP) has played since 2012, to build and maintain a robust identity infrastructure.
Mr. Moses Baiden was awarded CEO of the Year – Technology, Infrastructure, National and CEO of the Year – Technology, ICT Sector at the summit for his outstanding leadership and innovation in the technology sector.