Vice Chairman of the Committee on Public Administration and State Interests, Sammi Awuku, is calling on the government to urgently address what he describes as a brewing national crisis involving the National Identification Authority (NIA) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
His comments follow a major disruption that left scores of importers and taxpayers stranded at the Ghana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) tax gate. On August 5, 2025, the NIA cut off GRA’s access to its identity verification platform due to an unpaid debt of GHC 376 million.
In a post shared on social media sighted by MyNewsGh, Awuku described the situation as a wake-up call and warned that the current state of affairs goes far beyond a funding dispute.
“This is not just about money. If NIA’s systems are compromised, we are all at risk — from identity theft to institutional collapse. That’s not a hypothetical threat. It’s real and growing,” he said.
Awuku revealed that, in addition to the GRA’s huge debt, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) also owes the NIA over USD 50 million, worsening the Authority’s financial burden. These debts, he added, have crippled the NIA’s ability to upgrade its systems or implement critical cybersecurity protocols, placing the personal data of over 32 million Ghanaians at risk.
Despite several attempts by the NIA to resolve the issue amicably, Awuku said the GRA had failed to respond, leaving the Authority with no choice but to restrict access.
He expressed concern over the lack of adequate capital investment in the NIA, noting that the institution was allocated only GHC 21 million in the 2025 budget for capital expenditure, far below the GHC 78 million requested.
“This is woefully inadequate for the agency responsible for managing the entire identity framework of the country,” he lamented.
Awuku is urging the Ministry of Finance and the government to act now before the situation spirals further out of control.
“We can’t keep postponing the resourcing of essential state institutions and only act when disaster strikes. Ghanaians deserve better, as the government promised. Institutions that protect our identity must be protected themselves,” he emphasized.
He concluded by stressing that this is not just about data infrastructure — it’s about national trust, good governance, and the overall stability of the country.
