The Vice President and flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has told Organised Labour that his commitment to ensuring the issuance of national identity cards to the adult population of the country has paid off, as it has helped in significantly formalising the Ghanaian economy.

At a meeting with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in Accra on Wednesday, to explain his vision and policies for Ghana, Dr. Bawumia observed that for years, successive governments had operated an informal economy due to the exclusion of several members of the adult population in many crucial areas.

He said under the circumstances, making accurate economic decisions was difficult, hence his commitment to addressing the challenge as Vice President, through the permission of the President.

"There was the need to formalise the economy to be able to address these age-old challenges of ‘we are to move forward’", he said.

"I observed this in a book I wrote before I became Vice President so upon getting the opportunity, I sought the permission of the President and he allowed me."

Dr. Bawumia revealed that a key step towards attaining the formalisation of the economy was a national identity card, otherwise known as the Ghana Card, which he said the government has successfully issued to about 85% of the adult Ghanaian population and has started the issuance of Ghana Card numbers at birth.

"The Ghana Card has played a crucial role in helping to formalise the economy. With the Ghana Card number also being a TIN, it means government agencies such as the banks, GRA, Ghana Health Services, etc, as well as the telcos now have the data to act and include everyone."

Dr. Bawumia also said that in terms of financial inclusion, which Ghana is number one in Africa, the Ghana Card also helped in making it possible, as both banks and telcos require the Ghana Card for registration to be able to access services and generally mobile money interoperability.