Gyampo to Attafuah: NIA suffers from "trust deficit"

Gyampo says that the NIA must work to build public trust and confidence as the Electoral Commission aims at using the Ghana Card for voter ID card registration

Prof Ransford Gyampo

A professor in the political science department of the University of Ghana, Ransford Gyampo, has called on the executive director of the National Identification Authority (NIA) to work hard to fix what he describes as the problem of “trust deficit” about the NIA.

Gyampo warns that such issues if not urgently addressed could derail Ghana’s democracy.

The electoral commission is expected to replace the existing Constitutional Instrument (CI). with the new C.I. that makes it mandatory for the Ghana card to be the only medium of identification for purposes of establishing the eligibility or otherwise of a citizen of Ghana to register or to be enrolled on the voters’ register.

Sharing his thoughts on Facebook on Monday (27 February), Gyampo said notwithstanding the challenge, the NIA has performed creditably well in some areas.

“The NIA that you head, currently suffers a severe trust deficit partly because of the perception in the minds of some people I have personally spoken to that, the Authority seem to be working well in some strongholds and deliberately deficient in other strongholds,” Gyampo said.

“I respectfully expect you to work to address such perceptions to deal with the trust deficit. For, eloquence in defense and eloquence in being dismissive only serves to provide a veneer that cover challenges which when not properly addressed, can serve as a recipe for implosion and democratic relapse,” Gyampo posted on Facebook.

Below is the full post:

Dear Prof Ken Attafuah,

I heard you say on Peace FM this morning that I have articulated a certain weird perception of some people, which to your mind, shouldn’t have been articulated. I am quite disappointed. You said this on Newsfile and I thought it was a little indiscretion on your part that I could allow to slide. But you repeated it this morning and that is why I will offer a very polite response, because of the long standing relationship I have had with you, going back to our days at the IEA.

Prof Attafuah, you know the journey one travels to get to the professorial class. We do research and listen to the views of our respondents on issues. Some of the views of our respondents may be weird perceptions, but we don’t discount such so-called weird views. We put in recommendations to address such concerns to build trust.

The NIA that you head, currently suffers a severe trust deficit partly because of the perception in the minds of some people I have personally spoken to that, the Authority seem to be working well in some strongholds and deliberately