| Foroyaa Editorial : PASSPORT IS 1000 DALASIS HOW ABOUT ID CARD? A VOTER’s CARD IS FREE WHY NOT ID CARD? The Minister of Finance and Economic affairs has said in his budget speech that Significant investment is being made to enhance the security features of our national identification documents by going biometric, and as a result, the cost of these documents will be increased as follows; Drivers License from D300 to D500; Provisional Learner’s License from D50 to D100; International Drivers License from D500 to D1000; Passport from D500 to D1000.” The Minister did not say anything about ID Cards One of the most, if not the most important national document is the ID card. It is the base document which a person needs to get a passport, a voter’s card, a bank account, a hospital bed at subsidised rates, a Tax Identification Number and so on and so forth. Interestingly enough, possession of this document is now compulsory. One should move with it and should be produced when requested for by the police. Many people from the provinces are often asked to come down from transports to produce their ID Card or be detained for sometime if they fail to do so. Many women have been detained in hospitals to either produce their ID Card or be forced to pay 1800 dalasis as non Gambians. The reason why Voter’s Cards are made free is to ensure that each person is free to exercise his or her right to vote. If a fee is attached to being a voter many may not see the need to invest anything to vote. Instead, it is those who aim to be their representatives who may use the opportunity to provide them with the money to get their cards. The ID Card is the means to identify adult Gambians who are 18 and above. The 2003 census projections could be relied on to determine how many citizens would be 18 years by 2010.General issuing of ID Cards should have been done to those who prove their citizenship. It follows that since the carrying of an ID Card is mandatory the issuing of a voters card should be directly linked to the possession of an ID Card. This would have eradicated the whole process of getting a voter’s card through attestation which is open to fraud. This is the time to have the issuing of Identity cards right so that the protection of the citizenship rights of the Gambian would be complete. The Inter-party Committee could have pioneered all these initiatives but it is now dormant. Consequently, Little preparation is being made to ensure a fraud free registration exercise. Foroyaa hopes that this will serve as an alarm bell for all stakeholders to take interest in promoting the issuing of free ID Cards to all Gambian citizens of 18 years and above. If this is achieved and if it also becomes mandatory to show an ID Card to get a voter’s card cheating on age and nationality in registration of voters would be minimized and those who acquire ID Card under false pretence could be prosecuted at any time. This would serve as a deterrent to fraudulent electoral practices. |
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