A UCC teacher reveals how he traveled to Germany with aGhana card after completing his passport
A lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, Dr Emmanuel Acheampong, has revealed how the Ghana Card saved him from missing his flight from Germany to Ghana after he lost his passport.
Speaking on Okay FM on Friday morning, Dr Acheampong recounted how he arrived at Hamburg airport, found he had left his passport at home, but Ghanacard had guessed the date. "Yesterday I was flyingfrom Europe to Ghana. At the airport I joined the queue to check in and when it was timeto check in, I couldn't find my passport. I checked all my bags but I couldn't find my passport and I called home and was told I had left my passport at home,”Dr Acheampong told Okay FM. "I have an option, which is to rebook the flight and that willcost me more money. Then I remembered that in the past,there was a media report that it was possible for someone to travel to Ghana with a Ghanaian card, but I had my Ghanaian card in my pocket. \" "So I contacted Air France and showed them my Ghana card to prove that I am a Ghanaian and that I have a reason to travel to Ghana. Because the Ghanacard is machine readable, they checked and confirmed that I am a Ghanaian." "They talked to the immigration officials at the airport, but unfortunately for me, when they completed the procedures, I missed theAirfrance flight, but I was rebooked with KLM because of the connection between Air France and KLM. So I used my Ghana card to go to Ghana from Hamburg to Amsterdam,” he added.
Dr Acheampong continued that because he has linked his Ghana card with his passport and driving licence, it is easy and quick for officials to prove his identity through Ghanacard. \"Interestingly, because I linked my passport and driver's license to the Ghanacard, they couldsee when they checked it that I was indeed a Ghanaian citizen.\"
\"The good thing is that the Ghana card is machine readable, so you can put it inany machine that can be read, any information on it will come out, and that is what the airlines have done in - not using my passport. \"When I arrived in Ghana, I discovered that the GhanaianImmigration Service has a special office that deals with Ghanaian card holders. So I will not go to the normal immigration channel where you have to show your passport. I went to a special office. I don'tknow what is like it's. \ "
Dr. Acheapong agreed and until his own experience, he did not think that there could be used by Ghanacard to travel.
\ "Honestly, I was surprised so I could have ghanacard to travel. A few months ago when news broke that the Ghana cardcould be used as a travel document, many people did notbelieve it. Honestly, I don'tbelieve it," he admitted. “But I was arrested yesterday because if I missed the flight, I would have put the money to book it again, I said no let me try because the government has announced that Ghanacard willbe used to travel , I tried it and luckily it worked. It saved me time and money, and I'm glad to be back home."
He described the Ghana card as a good initiative and encouraged Ghanaians to embrace it and other government efforts to digitizethe country. \"Ghana Card is a good plan.Not only the Ghana card, but also efforts to digitize many aspects of our economy and country life are very important. Wherever you go, before any company or government hiresyou, you must first be known as that person." “It is a good effort and Ghanaians should accept it. My own experience shows that some of these strategies can help, especially in situations like the one I found myself in."
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