Seven weeks into its administration, the Samia-led Convention People’s Party (CPP) executive is bound to have a clash with some members of the National Executive Committee (NEC ) about when to hold the Presidential congress to select a flag bearer for the 2012 elections.
Some members of the party purporting to be consisting of one-third of the NEC have advertised in the media that they would hold a NEC meeting on November 30, 2011 at the Du Bois Centre at 10 am to take a definite decision on the date for the congress.
But the Chief Executive of the CPP, Mr Ivor Kobinah Greenstreet, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said although one-third of the NEC could call for such a meeting, the memo he had received from the so called one-third of the NEC was unsigned and undated and therefore any decision that would be taken would be“null and void ab initio”
He noted that NEC was a formal meeting of the CPP and those unidentified group seeking to organise that meeting should adhere to the process.
According to Mr Greenstreet, their letter should be signed so that the party could verify the authenticity of their signatures as real members of NEC and also for proper notification to be made, coupled with the selection of a venue, mobilisation of appropriate logistics and setting of an agenda.
“Although the party hierarchy respects people’s democratic right, which is also guaranteed by the CPP constitution to be heard, the rank and file should understand that the CPP congress to elect its presidential aspirant for 2012 is not being delayed. The unidentified group cannot hold NEC on their own,” he cautioned.
He explained that the problem of the seeming delay in the holding of the congress to elect a presidential aspirant had occurred because of the new constitution that the party had adopted half way through the four year electoral cycle.
The constitution envisages that the newly elected officers steering the affairs of the CPP for one year before any presidential congress can be held. Even the so-called provision stating that the presidential congress should be held 24 months before national elections started their stewardship nine months even before this new executive took office.
The General Secretary noted that the CPP was therefore finding a middle ground in order for everybody’s interest to be satisfied but surprisingly, the party had not received any communication about all the grievances.
“Yet, someone has been manipulating all these sporadic outburst around the country, thereby washing the party’s dirty linen in public and bringing the name of the CPP into disrepute,” Mr Greenstreet, who did not mention any name, said.
He cautioned those sponsoring these people to beware that it was the same activities which had always engendered disunity and disorganisation which had been at the root of CPP’s woes and made it to secure only one per cent of the total votes cast at every national election in recent times.
He described the people sponsoring those purporting to hold the NEC meeting as “having confusing influence” adding that leadership of the party understood perfectly well that any excessive delay would be prejudicial to any future CPP presidential candidates bid.
Mr Greenstreet reminded those agitating that the party must conduct two outstanding regional congresses in the Western and the Volta regions and also solve the outstanding legal disputes as well as reorganise at all the polling station level .
All these, Mr Greenstreet noted, were geared towards putting the party in a position to avoid getting the one per cent it had been receiving; that would be a thing of the past.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Region has no locus to to disqualify aspirants--Ras Mubarak
One of the aspiring parliamentary hopefuls for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Ablekuma North, Mr Mohammed Ras Mubarak, has stated that the regional branch of the party neither has authority nor locus to disqualify any aspirant.
He explained that besides not having the authority, any attempt to disqualify an aspirant based on his personal opinion would be sending wrong signals about the NDC and would also be violating Article 7 of the 1992 Constitution.
Mr Mubarak who picked the number two position on the ballot paper for the primaries to be held on November 26, 2011, noted that if it was wrong for him to criticise the Mills government then those calling for his dismissal must also “find fault and expel former President Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, Mr Alban Sumana Bagbin, Dr Ekwow Spio Garbrah, Boakye Djan, among others, from the NDC for stridently criticising the Mills Administration at one time or the other.”
The Greater Accra Regional Vetting Committee of the party in its report which was made available to the Daily Graphic disqualified four persons from contesting in the forthcoming primaries.
It was, however, undecided on Mr Mohammed Ras Mubarak, and noted that it had left the decision as to whether he should contest on the party’s ticket or not to the national executive of the party.
The report said the regional vetting panel raised issues of various published articles and radio utterances by Mr Ras Mubarak castigating President Mills, the NDC government and the NDC leadership.
It said Mr Mubarak denied being malicious, and explained that he was only offering constructive criticism and that he had on some occasions commended President Mills. “He later apologised when it was pointed out to him that some of his actions and utterances were in bad taste and politically wrong.”
Explaining further, Mr Mubarak said he was not the least perturbed by the unconstitutional behaviour of a few members among the regional executives to leak the report to the press to make it seem like the region’s vetting committee had the final decision on the eligibility of any candidate.
He noted that the one who leaked the report had not read the NDC constitution, particularly Article 39 (e) which stipulated clearly that it was an offence for any member of the party to divulge confidential report of the party to any unauthorised person.
Mr Mubarak noted that he was focused on his campaign, which he said was going well in the constituency, and that the people would vote massively for him to represent the party in the 2012 elections and win the seat for the NDC.
“My eyes are fixed on the ball and I will emerge the winner in the primaries that will be held on November 26, 2011. This is because the NPP that had represented the constituency over the years had not provided leadership. This constituency needs a young and dynamic leadership and I promise to provide that”, he added.
“We have a tantalising opportunity to win the 2012 elections and increase our numbers in Parliament”, he added, and urged leading members of the party not to indulge in activities that would negatively affect the unity and peace needed for the 2012 elections.
He explained that besides not having the authority, any attempt to disqualify an aspirant based on his personal opinion would be sending wrong signals about the NDC and would also be violating Article 7 of the 1992 Constitution.
Mr Mubarak who picked the number two position on the ballot paper for the primaries to be held on November 26, 2011, noted that if it was wrong for him to criticise the Mills government then those calling for his dismissal must also “find fault and expel former President Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, Mr Alban Sumana Bagbin, Dr Ekwow Spio Garbrah, Boakye Djan, among others, from the NDC for stridently criticising the Mills Administration at one time or the other.”
The Greater Accra Regional Vetting Committee of the party in its report which was made available to the Daily Graphic disqualified four persons from contesting in the forthcoming primaries.
It was, however, undecided on Mr Mohammed Ras Mubarak, and noted that it had left the decision as to whether he should contest on the party’s ticket or not to the national executive of the party.
The report said the regional vetting panel raised issues of various published articles and radio utterances by Mr Ras Mubarak castigating President Mills, the NDC government and the NDC leadership.
It said Mr Mubarak denied being malicious, and explained that he was only offering constructive criticism and that he had on some occasions commended President Mills. “He later apologised when it was pointed out to him that some of his actions and utterances were in bad taste and politically wrong.”
Explaining further, Mr Mubarak said he was not the least perturbed by the unconstitutional behaviour of a few members among the regional executives to leak the report to the press to make it seem like the region’s vetting committee had the final decision on the eligibility of any candidate.
He noted that the one who leaked the report had not read the NDC constitution, particularly Article 39 (e) which stipulated clearly that it was an offence for any member of the party to divulge confidential report of the party to any unauthorised person.
Mr Mubarak noted that he was focused on his campaign, which he said was going well in the constituency, and that the people would vote massively for him to represent the party in the 2012 elections and win the seat for the NDC.
“My eyes are fixed on the ball and I will emerge the winner in the primaries that will be held on November 26, 2011. This is because the NPP that had represented the constituency over the years had not provided leadership. This constituency needs a young and dynamic leadership and I promise to provide that”, he added.
“We have a tantalising opportunity to win the 2012 elections and increase our numbers in Parliament”, he added, and urged leading members of the party not to indulge in activities that would negatively affect the unity and peace needed for the 2012 elections.
Friday, November 18, 2011
PNC, CPP pat govt on the back
THE Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the People’s National Convention (PNC) have patted the government on the back for taking bold decisions in initiating policies that would generate revenue for the country.
They, however, described the government’s budget statement for 2012 as “bold but not bold enough” to redeem the country from the shackles of constant and increasing dependence on donor support.
Reacting to the 2012 Budget and Economic Policy of the government presented to Parliament on Wednesday, the two political parties tagged it as “moderate” with some expectations met while others remained an illusion.
Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, the General Secretary of the CPP, welcomed the bold decision by the government to increase the corporate tax rate for mining companies from the current 26 per cent to 35 per cent and a windfall tax of 10 per cent, as well as the continuation of social interventions such as the provision of free school uniforms and textbooks and other poverty alleviation programmes.
He said all these bold decisions to generate revenue must be backed with concrete and concerted efforts at ensuring that they were implemented to derive the needed revenue.
“These bold decisions need to be complemented with far-reaching institutionalised policy to add value to our raw materials to create jobs and change the economic and social status of the majority of the people who are poor,” he added
He added that the feat chalked up by the government in the area of micro economic stability, particularly with the downward trend in inflation and interest rates, were laudable but added that these must be translated into creating jobs for the teeming unemployed youth and the creation of wealth for the poor in society.
Mr Greenstreet wondered what benefit it would be for the country if it continued to attain low inflationary rates but sectors like manufacturing and hospitality, whose activities have a direct bearing on the ordinary Ghanaian, were not accelerating in growth.
He described as dangerous the recent phenomenon where almost everything used in Ghana, from tooth pick to furniture, were being imported into the country at the expense of local industry and urged the government to refrain from paying lip-service to support local industries to grow and ensure that they were given the needed assistance to compete with their international counterparts.
On the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), Mr Greenstreet said the CPP fully supported such social interventions but expressed worry that the government had not been able to implement its own initial commitment.
He said it was strange that almost all the initial amounts promised yearly for the realisation of the objective had not been provided, and expressed doubts about the government’s move to organise meetings with donors to raise the needed funds.
Mr Bernard Mornah, the General Secretary of the PNC, commended the government for reforms in the personal tax to accommodate inflation and compensate for the erosions of disposable income of people, saying that this would allow those in the lower brackets space and give them some disposable income to spend.
He was full of praise for the government for taking the bull by the horn to increase corporate taxes for mining companies from the current 25 per cent to 35 per cent.
He said it was unacceptable for mining companies to enter mining concessions, expose the environment to poisonous substances, pollute water bodies and destroy the vegetation and after that, all the country got was some paltry five per cent as revenue, “while the whopping 95 per cent of the income goes to some people playing golf somewhere”.
When the Daily Graphic hit town to interact with people in the markets and the streets on the budget, many of them said they did not listen to the reading of the budget. Others were not even aware that the 2012 budget was read last Wednesday, while the few who commented, expressed divergent views.
A chartered accountant, Thomas Agbasi, stressed the need to build consensus on the $3 billion Chinese loan deal to enable the government to undertake development projects.
He expressed worry about the fact that the budget did not give enough indication of job creation, especially for the youth.
For his part, George Anokye, who described himself as a civil servant, said the GHc1 million budgeted for media development was very good because it would enable the media to perform efficiently and not do things that could plunge the country into civil conflict.
He said the support to develop the music industry was also laudable because it was the first time a government had taken such an initiative and expressed the hope that the government would do everything it had projected in the budget.
At the Tema Station, a shoe seller, Kwabena Ofori, said he expected the government to create markets for hawkers, since the Hawkers Market at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle was inadequate.
He said business, especially for hawkers, was bad these days and so it was difficult for him to cater for his family.
The Chief Executive Officer of Imani Ghana, Mr Franklin Cudjoe, said the budget might have met the expectations of the government but as to whether it met the expectations of the people was another issue.
He expressed scepticism about the achievement of a one-time premium pay policy under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which the government intends to implement next year.
Mr Cudjoe said the fact that the government kept postponing the implementation of the policy since it took office in 2009, meant it would be difficult to execute it.
On the projection of GHc1.24 billion from the export of crude oil in the 2012 fiscal year, he said there was nothing wrong in making such a projection.
He said if that huge revenue projection was achieved, it would be a shot in the arm of the government and facilitate infrastructural development in the country.
Mr Cudjoe had problems with the budget of GHc1 million for media development, describing the reason for that budget as too vague.
He said there should be a specific indication as to what the money would be used for and not just captured as a budget for media development.
They, however, described the government’s budget statement for 2012 as “bold but not bold enough” to redeem the country from the shackles of constant and increasing dependence on donor support.
Reacting to the 2012 Budget and Economic Policy of the government presented to Parliament on Wednesday, the two political parties tagged it as “moderate” with some expectations met while others remained an illusion.
Mr Ivor Kobina Greenstreet, the General Secretary of the CPP, welcomed the bold decision by the government to increase the corporate tax rate for mining companies from the current 26 per cent to 35 per cent and a windfall tax of 10 per cent, as well as the continuation of social interventions such as the provision of free school uniforms and textbooks and other poverty alleviation programmes.
He said all these bold decisions to generate revenue must be backed with concrete and concerted efforts at ensuring that they were implemented to derive the needed revenue.
“These bold decisions need to be complemented with far-reaching institutionalised policy to add value to our raw materials to create jobs and change the economic and social status of the majority of the people who are poor,” he added
He added that the feat chalked up by the government in the area of micro economic stability, particularly with the downward trend in inflation and interest rates, were laudable but added that these must be translated into creating jobs for the teeming unemployed youth and the creation of wealth for the poor in society.
Mr Greenstreet wondered what benefit it would be for the country if it continued to attain low inflationary rates but sectors like manufacturing and hospitality, whose activities have a direct bearing on the ordinary Ghanaian, were not accelerating in growth.
He described as dangerous the recent phenomenon where almost everything used in Ghana, from tooth pick to furniture, were being imported into the country at the expense of local industry and urged the government to refrain from paying lip-service to support local industries to grow and ensure that they were given the needed assistance to compete with their international counterparts.
On the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), Mr Greenstreet said the CPP fully supported such social interventions but expressed worry that the government had not been able to implement its own initial commitment.
He said it was strange that almost all the initial amounts promised yearly for the realisation of the objective had not been provided, and expressed doubts about the government’s move to organise meetings with donors to raise the needed funds.
Mr Bernard Mornah, the General Secretary of the PNC, commended the government for reforms in the personal tax to accommodate inflation and compensate for the erosions of disposable income of people, saying that this would allow those in the lower brackets space and give them some disposable income to spend.
He was full of praise for the government for taking the bull by the horn to increase corporate taxes for mining companies from the current 25 per cent to 35 per cent.
He said it was unacceptable for mining companies to enter mining concessions, expose the environment to poisonous substances, pollute water bodies and destroy the vegetation and after that, all the country got was some paltry five per cent as revenue, “while the whopping 95 per cent of the income goes to some people playing golf somewhere”.
When the Daily Graphic hit town to interact with people in the markets and the streets on the budget, many of them said they did not listen to the reading of the budget. Others were not even aware that the 2012 budget was read last Wednesday, while the few who commented, expressed divergent views.
A chartered accountant, Thomas Agbasi, stressed the need to build consensus on the $3 billion Chinese loan deal to enable the government to undertake development projects.
He expressed worry about the fact that the budget did not give enough indication of job creation, especially for the youth.
For his part, George Anokye, who described himself as a civil servant, said the GHc1 million budgeted for media development was very good because it would enable the media to perform efficiently and not do things that could plunge the country into civil conflict.
He said the support to develop the music industry was also laudable because it was the first time a government had taken such an initiative and expressed the hope that the government would do everything it had projected in the budget.
At the Tema Station, a shoe seller, Kwabena Ofori, said he expected the government to create markets for hawkers, since the Hawkers Market at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle was inadequate.
He said business, especially for hawkers, was bad these days and so it was difficult for him to cater for his family.
The Chief Executive Officer of Imani Ghana, Mr Franklin Cudjoe, said the budget might have met the expectations of the government but as to whether it met the expectations of the people was another issue.
He expressed scepticism about the achievement of a one-time premium pay policy under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), which the government intends to implement next year.
Mr Cudjoe said the fact that the government kept postponing the implementation of the policy since it took office in 2009, meant it would be difficult to execute it.
On the projection of GHc1.24 billion from the export of crude oil in the 2012 fiscal year, he said there was nothing wrong in making such a projection.
He said if that huge revenue projection was achieved, it would be a shot in the arm of the government and facilitate infrastructural development in the country.
Mr Cudjoe had problems with the budget of GHc1 million for media development, describing the reason for that budget as too vague.
He said there should be a specific indication as to what the money would be used for and not just captured as a budget for media development.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Gt Accra NDC disqualifies 4 aspirants. Ras Mubarak's fate hangs
THE Greater Accra Regional Vetting Committee of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has disqualified four persons from contesting in the forthcoming primaries.
It was, however, undecided on Mr Mohammed Ras Mubarak of Ablekuma North and noted that it had left the decision as to whether he should contest on the party’s ticket or not to the national executive of the party.
The committee also suspended a branch chairman of the Ayawaso Central Constituency of the party for misconduct. It explained that the branch chairman was suspended because he raised issues about the membership card he had issued to Mr Franklin Mensah and alleged that Mr Mensah had not fulfilled his promise after acquiring the card.
“We found that untenable since it cannot be proven and moved to have the branch chairman suspended for his mischief.”
The four suspended aspirants are the former Chairman of the Confiscated Assets Committee, Mr Carl Wilson, who was vying for the slot in the Weija Constituency; Mr Delali Emmanuel Brempong in the Ayawaso West Wuogon; Augustine Ken Eshum and Andrew Okaikoi, both of Okaikoi North.
Last Friday, a Deputy General Secretary of the party in-charge of primaries, Mr George Lawson, told the Daily Graphic that more than 10 people out of those who filed their nominations to contest in the primaries in the orphaned constituencies of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) have been disqualified.
However, he failed to disclose the names of those who have been disqualified and their constituencies. The party has also directed the Tano North Constituency in the Brong Ahafo Region to open fresh nomination since all the aspirants did not follow laid down regulations.
THE National Democratic Congress has set November 19 and 26, 2011, for the primaries to select aspirants for orphan constituencies in the northern and southern sectors, respectively.
The northern sector consists of the Ashanti, Northern, Brong Ahafo, Upper West and Upper East regions while the southern is made up of the Greater Accra, Central, Western, Volta and Eastern regions.
According to a copy of the Greater Accra Vetting Committee report, which was made available to Daily Graphic, “Carl Wilson’s past issues with confiscated (auctioned) cars and his withdrawal from the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff’s office were raised and his answers were unacceptable since he could not give tangible reasons for the President’s decision to ask for his removal. He also declined to comment.”
The report said having such a high profile case against him, the NDC would be sending wrong signals that it condoned “ wrongdoings if any or not” and added that even if he was allowed to go through, opponents of the NDC would use it against the party and the electorates would also reject him during the 2012 parliamentary elections.
The report said a Daily Graphic publication of July11, 2006, about Delali Emmanuel Brempong’s involvement in an alleged fraud was shown to him but he denied his involvement and claimed that the police had since cleared him.
According to him, he was rather a victim. He was asked to provide proof of verification.
The report described Mr Brempong’s issue as serious and therefore his nomination must be rejected without hesitation, otherwise it would spell doom for the party.
At Okaikoi North, serious allegations were levelled against Mr Andrew Okaikoi, including some publications to that effect. Others were raised by one of the contestants for the slot, Mr Augustus Ken Eshun.
“Andrew Okaikoi’s candidature in our opinion will pose many challenges to the party and at best will be an albatross on the neck of the NDC. Our opponents will use this to destabilise our campaign and even resort to the law courts for disqualification,” the report said.
The report indicated that since Mr Augustus Eshun himself found grounds for going public on someone’s disqualification, his admission of forged signatures which was also in the public domain should not be taken lightly.
“By using forged signatures on his nomination form, he has committed fraud. In his submission ,he admitted the offence of forgery and as such he cannot be recommended for approval.”
The report said the panel raised issues of various published articles and radio utterances by Mr Ras Mubarak castigating President Mills, the NDC government and the NDC leadership.
It said Mr Mubarak denied being malicious and explained that he was only offering constructive criticism and that he had on some occasions commended President Mills. “He later apologised when it was pointed out to him that some of his actions and utterances were in bad taste and politically wrong.”
“We recommend Mr Nathaniel Addo for approval. As for Ras Mubarak, we leave the decision to the party leadership.”
It was, however, undecided on Mr Mohammed Ras Mubarak of Ablekuma North and noted that it had left the decision as to whether he should contest on the party’s ticket or not to the national executive of the party.
The committee also suspended a branch chairman of the Ayawaso Central Constituency of the party for misconduct. It explained that the branch chairman was suspended because he raised issues about the membership card he had issued to Mr Franklin Mensah and alleged that Mr Mensah had not fulfilled his promise after acquiring the card.
“We found that untenable since it cannot be proven and moved to have the branch chairman suspended for his mischief.”
The four suspended aspirants are the former Chairman of the Confiscated Assets Committee, Mr Carl Wilson, who was vying for the slot in the Weija Constituency; Mr Delali Emmanuel Brempong in the Ayawaso West Wuogon; Augustine Ken Eshum and Andrew Okaikoi, both of Okaikoi North.
Last Friday, a Deputy General Secretary of the party in-charge of primaries, Mr George Lawson, told the Daily Graphic that more than 10 people out of those who filed their nominations to contest in the primaries in the orphaned constituencies of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) have been disqualified.
However, he failed to disclose the names of those who have been disqualified and their constituencies. The party has also directed the Tano North Constituency in the Brong Ahafo Region to open fresh nomination since all the aspirants did not follow laid down regulations.
THE National Democratic Congress has set November 19 and 26, 2011, for the primaries to select aspirants for orphan constituencies in the northern and southern sectors, respectively.
The northern sector consists of the Ashanti, Northern, Brong Ahafo, Upper West and Upper East regions while the southern is made up of the Greater Accra, Central, Western, Volta and Eastern regions.
According to a copy of the Greater Accra Vetting Committee report, which was made available to Daily Graphic, “Carl Wilson’s past issues with confiscated (auctioned) cars and his withdrawal from the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff’s office were raised and his answers were unacceptable since he could not give tangible reasons for the President’s decision to ask for his removal. He also declined to comment.”
The report said having such a high profile case against him, the NDC would be sending wrong signals that it condoned “ wrongdoings if any or not” and added that even if he was allowed to go through, opponents of the NDC would use it against the party and the electorates would also reject him during the 2012 parliamentary elections.
The report said a Daily Graphic publication of July11, 2006, about Delali Emmanuel Brempong’s involvement in an alleged fraud was shown to him but he denied his involvement and claimed that the police had since cleared him.
According to him, he was rather a victim. He was asked to provide proof of verification.
The report described Mr Brempong’s issue as serious and therefore his nomination must be rejected without hesitation, otherwise it would spell doom for the party.
At Okaikoi North, serious allegations were levelled against Mr Andrew Okaikoi, including some publications to that effect. Others were raised by one of the contestants for the slot, Mr Augustus Ken Eshun.
“Andrew Okaikoi’s candidature in our opinion will pose many challenges to the party and at best will be an albatross on the neck of the NDC. Our opponents will use this to destabilise our campaign and even resort to the law courts for disqualification,” the report said.
The report indicated that since Mr Augustus Eshun himself found grounds for going public on someone’s disqualification, his admission of forged signatures which was also in the public domain should not be taken lightly.
“By using forged signatures on his nomination form, he has committed fraud. In his submission ,he admitted the offence of forgery and as such he cannot be recommended for approval.”
The report said the panel raised issues of various published articles and radio utterances by Mr Ras Mubarak castigating President Mills, the NDC government and the NDC leadership.
It said Mr Mubarak denied being malicious and explained that he was only offering constructive criticism and that he had on some occasions commended President Mills. “He later apologised when it was pointed out to him that some of his actions and utterances were in bad taste and politically wrong.”
“We recommend Mr Nathaniel Addo for approval. As for Ras Mubarak, we leave the decision to the party leadership.”
Verification of biometric register... EC budgets for it
THE Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, yesterday put to rest concerns raised by some political parties and identifiable groups about the need for verification of the biometric register by saying that the commission has made provision in its budget to the government for the verification gadgets for the 2012 elections.
However, he cautioned that the verification per se was not the panacea to electoral fraud, double voting and stealing of ballot boxes, because what were required of all, especially political parties, were vigilance, honesty and decent electoral behaviour.
Speaking at the opening of the first international conference on peace and good governance by the West African Parliamentary Press Corps (WAPPC) in Accra, Dr Afari-Gyan wondered what the need for verification and biometric registration would serve when the EC was able to successfully undertake the exercise but on the election day people decided to carry ballot boxes away or engage in double voting.
The two-day conference is on the theme: “The role of the media in ensuring peace and good governance in West Africa”.
Verification of the intended biometric register has become a contentious issue among political parties and identifiable groups. While the New Patriotic Party(NPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC) and the Catholic Bishops Conference are pushing for verification, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) believes the verification process could put unnecessary pressure on the financial resources of the country.
The NDC also thinks that honesty and integrity on the part of stakeholders were what was required.
The EC Chairman urged the media and other commentators to allow the EC and the political parties ample time in a sober mood to discuss thoroughly the issues concerning the biometric registration and the intended verification.
He noted that dialogue was paramount because there could be instances where electricity would either not be available at all or go off at certain polling centres, adding that the stakeholders should agree on what would be the way forward.
Dr Afari-Gyan, who did not rule out the connivance of some political parties with electoral officers at polling stations to perpetuate electoral fraud, indicated that “the EC does not supervise stealing; it is rather the political parties that indulge in such acts”.
He said if the political parties which always wanted to resort to all sorts of frivolous means to win elections would mend their ways and exhibit high sense of honesty and sincerity, the country could use the resources for both the biometric registration and the verification to grow and sustain its democracy.
Regarding the budget for the verification, he reminded the gathering that as usual with all government-financed organisations, there were times their budgets would be reduced even when Parliament had approved of it.
He contended that there would not be the need to spend so much on biometric registration and verification which would require at least 23,000 gadgets if political parties “will not resurrect dead people to come to vote during elections”.
Dr Afari-Gyan gave an instance in Sene Constituency where children who could only go to the polling stations on their mothers’ backs were registered.
He expressed worry that some Ghanaians, particularly political party leaders and commentators, had either intentionally or out of ignorance confused the issues of biometric registration with biometric voting, with others pontificating as if the biometric registration was equal to biometric voting, explaining that “there was no logistical relationship between biometric registration and electronic voting”.
He admonished that knowledge was very crucial when it came to the work of the EC, especially with regards to registration and voting, and urged people who would make public pronouncements on such matters to first apprise themselves very well on issues “before polluting the air”.
The EC chairman also indicated that no country in Africa had ever used biometric verification for its biometric register during elections and said even in South Africa, the closest they came to was to check the identity cards and not biometric verification.
The Vice President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, in a speech read on his behalf by the Communication Minister, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, challenged the media in West Africa and in Ghana in particular to muster courage and expose war mongers and others who indulged in the abuse of human rights.
According to him, the activities of such unscrupulous persons had the tendency to disrupt peace and stability.
He also appealed to practitioners in the inky fraternity not to hesitate to raise the red flags and make public hot spots in the country that could degenerate into violent conflicts, particularly chieftaincy disputes, ethnic and political tension.
He reiterated the commitment of the Mills Administration to ensure that there was peace, stability and unity of the country before, during and after the 2012 elections and challenged political parties not to engage in any parochial activity that would serve their interest but negatively affect the well-being of the state.
The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, urged the media in the West African sub-Region to acquire knowledge and research into issues so that their pronouncements on such issues could be very authoritative and factual.
However, he cautioned that the verification per se was not the panacea to electoral fraud, double voting and stealing of ballot boxes, because what were required of all, especially political parties, were vigilance, honesty and decent electoral behaviour.
Speaking at the opening of the first international conference on peace and good governance by the West African Parliamentary Press Corps (WAPPC) in Accra, Dr Afari-Gyan wondered what the need for verification and biometric registration would serve when the EC was able to successfully undertake the exercise but on the election day people decided to carry ballot boxes away or engage in double voting.
The two-day conference is on the theme: “The role of the media in ensuring peace and good governance in West Africa”.
Verification of the intended biometric register has become a contentious issue among political parties and identifiable groups. While the New Patriotic Party(NPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC) and the Catholic Bishops Conference are pushing for verification, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) believes the verification process could put unnecessary pressure on the financial resources of the country.
The NDC also thinks that honesty and integrity on the part of stakeholders were what was required.
The EC Chairman urged the media and other commentators to allow the EC and the political parties ample time in a sober mood to discuss thoroughly the issues concerning the biometric registration and the intended verification.
He noted that dialogue was paramount because there could be instances where electricity would either not be available at all or go off at certain polling centres, adding that the stakeholders should agree on what would be the way forward.
Dr Afari-Gyan, who did not rule out the connivance of some political parties with electoral officers at polling stations to perpetuate electoral fraud, indicated that “the EC does not supervise stealing; it is rather the political parties that indulge in such acts”.
He said if the political parties which always wanted to resort to all sorts of frivolous means to win elections would mend their ways and exhibit high sense of honesty and sincerity, the country could use the resources for both the biometric registration and the verification to grow and sustain its democracy.
Regarding the budget for the verification, he reminded the gathering that as usual with all government-financed organisations, there were times their budgets would be reduced even when Parliament had approved of it.
He contended that there would not be the need to spend so much on biometric registration and verification which would require at least 23,000 gadgets if political parties “will not resurrect dead people to come to vote during elections”.
Dr Afari-Gyan gave an instance in Sene Constituency where children who could only go to the polling stations on their mothers’ backs were registered.
He expressed worry that some Ghanaians, particularly political party leaders and commentators, had either intentionally or out of ignorance confused the issues of biometric registration with biometric voting, with others pontificating as if the biometric registration was equal to biometric voting, explaining that “there was no logistical relationship between biometric registration and electronic voting”.
He admonished that knowledge was very crucial when it came to the work of the EC, especially with regards to registration and voting, and urged people who would make public pronouncements on such matters to first apprise themselves very well on issues “before polluting the air”.
The EC chairman also indicated that no country in Africa had ever used biometric verification for its biometric register during elections and said even in South Africa, the closest they came to was to check the identity cards and not biometric verification.
The Vice President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, in a speech read on his behalf by the Communication Minister, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, challenged the media in West Africa and in Ghana in particular to muster courage and expose war mongers and others who indulged in the abuse of human rights.
According to him, the activities of such unscrupulous persons had the tendency to disrupt peace and stability.
He also appealed to practitioners in the inky fraternity not to hesitate to raise the red flags and make public hot spots in the country that could degenerate into violent conflicts, particularly chieftaincy disputes, ethnic and political tension.
He reiterated the commitment of the Mills Administration to ensure that there was peace, stability and unity of the country before, during and after the 2012 elections and challenged political parties not to engage in any parochial activity that would serve their interest but negatively affect the well-being of the state.
The Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Prof Mike Oquaye, urged the media in the West African sub-Region to acquire knowledge and research into issues so that their pronouncements on such issues could be very authoritative and factual.
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