Vice Chair of Parliament’s Public Administration and State Interests Committee, Sammi Awuku, has raised alarm over what he calls a “growing institutional breakdown” between the National Identification Authority (NIA) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), warning it could trigger a national crisis and disrupt the country’s digital governance framework.
The standoff follows the NIA’s suspension of the GRA’s access to its Identity Verification System Platform (IVSP) on August 5 over an alleged GH¢376 million debt a move that has disrupted revenue collection systems, delayed port operations, and stalled critical public services.
In a Facebook post, the Akropong MP stressed that the situation represents more than a financial dispute, describing it as “a deeper governance failure that risks crippling the country’s digital identity infrastructure and undermining inter-agency cooperation.”
“This goes beyond funding issues and the effect of this financial constraints is the NIA’s inability to carry out vital system upgrades or implement international best practices in data protection which is gradually becoming a cybersecurity and national security threat,” Awuku said.
He cautioned that if the NIA’s systems are compromised, “we are all at risk, from identity theft to institutional collapse. That’s not a hypothetical threat. It’s a real, growing danger.”
Awuku disclosed that the NIA had sought GH¢78 million in the 2025 budget to fund operational expansion and strengthen cybersecurity safeguards but received only GH¢21 million a shortfall he says reflects “a troubling underappreciation” of the Authority’s strategic role in national security and digital public services.
The GRA has rejected the debt claim, dismissing it as a legacy transaction without formal regulatory approvals. But Awuku argues that the impasse exposes a deeper “systemic failure in how state institutions are funded, coordinated, and governed.”
He is urging the Ministry of Finance, the Presidency, and Cabinet to urgently mediate the dispute and establish a sustainable framework for inter-agency collaboration.
“If this situation is not resolved decisively, the cost to Ghana’s economy, governance, and security could be catastrophic.” he warned.
