The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has dismissed media reports that it has approved the use of the National Identification Card, popularly known as Ghana Card, as an electronic passport.
In a series of tweets, the organization clarified that it was not its role " to certify the use of a state's identity card for international travel in lieu of a passport."
"The decision to accept such an alternative travel document is made by the recipient state itself," ICAO further clarified.
The clarification follows reports by sections of the media that ICAO on Wednesday officially approved the Ghana Card as an electronic passport at a special ceremony at its headquarters in Montreal, Canada, following a series of processes that began last year.
However, ICAO said discussions at the ceremony were misrepresented by the media.
It said the ceremony merely highlighted Ghana's efforts to gain acceptance of its electronic documents.
The vice president had earlier said that the Ghanaian card would be recognized as an electronic passport in 197 countries by 2022.
"The Ghana card will be recognized as an electronic passport and can be read and verified at all ICAO-compliant borders (in 197 countries and 44,000 airports around the world). Once this is the case, Ghana Cardholders can take any flight to Ghana."
"The good news for Ghanaians in the Diaspora is also that once the Ghana Immigration Service is linked to the NIA architecture, Diaspora Ghanaians holding the Ghana Card will not require a visa to enter Ghana."
Dr. Bawumia said the government is working with ICAO to activate the e-passport feature of the Ghana card worldwide.
"We expect this feature to be operational by the end of the first quarter of next year," he said. Ghana is one of the few countries in the world where the national ID card is also an electronic passport," he said.