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EC’s insistence on Ghana card for voter registration means ‘mad people’ with card can register – Asiedu Nketia
The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia says the use of the Ghana Card as sole proof of eligibility for prospective voters in the next general election has its own challenges.
He says the EC’s decision to exclude other forms of identification in the voter registration exercise will not resolve the challenges confronting the election management body in terms of protecting the integrity of the electoral roll.
Speaking in an Interview with Joy News’ Blessed Sogah on The Pulse, Mr. Asiedu Nketia said, “people who are holding Ghana Card also has its own challenges even if every Ghanaian has it. Do you know mad people have the right to get the citizen’s card? Do you know that undischarged bankrupts have the right to own a Ghana card?
“So you want to issue the card to a mad person and when he presents it at the registration center you can’t stop him, but a person who is active and alert and who doesn’t have the card cannot participate in the elections?
“So look, one source of identification document is good, but don’t let us misuse it. Let us go gradually and make sure that we have come to a point where there is no backlog,” he said.
The NDC Chairman was reacting to the justification offered by the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Jean Mensa when she addressed Parliament over the proposed Constitutional Instrument (CI) on electoral reforms ahead of the 2024 general election.
She indicated that the use of the Ghana Card is to protect the integrity of the voters register.
She added that it will also prevent unqualified persons from influencing elections in the country, thus “having a say on who should govern our country.”
Meanwhile the opposition NDC says it will not back down in its “operation save our democracy” as Mr. Nketia says Members of Parliament on the NDC ticket have been directed to kick against the CI.
The government is set to lay before Parliament today, November 21, a Constitutional Instrument (C.I) seeking to restrict the importation of selected strategic products into the country.
The items, numbering over 20, will include rice, tripe (popularly called “yemuadie” in Ghana), and diapers.
The government said the move is part of efforts to enhance local production.
Speaking during a press briefing in Parliament, the Minister of Trade and Industry, K.T Hammond said, “Stomach of animals, bladder and the chunk of intestines (yemuadie), the country had had to put in an amount of about $164 million towards the importation of these items. We are taking steps to ensure that in terms of rice, there’s no poverty of rice in the country.”
He emphasized, “By these restrictions, we are not going to ensure that there’s no food in the country at all; that is not the point at all. There have to be some efforts by the government to ensure that we go back to Acheampong’s operation feed yourself. There are about 22 items on the list, one of them, I think, is diapers.”
He announced the introduction of the Ghana Standards Authority Regulations 2023, which also seeks to streamline the manufacturing of cement to ensure competitive pricing.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia says former President John Dramani Mahama does not understand the 24-hour economy policy he is proposing.
According to the Vice President, that policy is already being implemented in the country, as hospitals, fuel companies, among others, operate a 24-hour system.
Dr. Bawumia, therefore, urged Ghanaians to ignore Mahama during the 2024 polls since he has nothing new to offer and vote for the New Patriotic Party.
“John Mahama says he has a new idea. What is the idea? He says he wants a 24-hour economy. He doesn’t even understand that policy. Today in Ghana, our hospitals work 24 hours, our electricity company works 24 hours, our water company works 24 hours, our fuel stations work 24 hours, and many chop bars work 24 hours. Today because of digitalisation, you can transfer money 24 hours, you can receive money 24 hours… So he doesn’t understand his own policy. It doesn’t make sense.”
“So I want you to vote for me in 2024 because I will bring a new vision, I will bring a new policy. Mahama is the past, Dr Bawumia is the future. If John Mahama was there, we would say we have a dumsor economy, you can’t have a 24-hour economy in dumsor. So, you want to vote for Dr Bawumia in 2024, we will take the country to new heights,” Dr Bawumia stated.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has accused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of pressuring the House to pass a number of bills under a certificate of urgency.
Mr. Bagbin cited bills such as the Affirmative Action Bill, which is allegedly being pushed by the IMF as part of the conditionality for the balance of the $3 billion credit facility for Ghana.
Speaking at the Speaker’s Breakfast Meeting on Monday, Alban Bagbin insisted that the House will not be coerced by the IMF to pass the bill.
“Even in this budget, you can see the arm of the IMF in a lot of provisions in the budget. A critical bill like the Affirmative Action Gender Equality Bill has come to Parliament under a certificate of urgency. Please, it won’t happen; we won’t pass it under a certificate of urgency.”
“There are critical stakeholders we must consult and make sure we go together. We will not be dictated by the IMF; that one, you can be assured. This is a very critical bill that the IMF should know that we need the buy-in of the stakeholders to be able to implement it,” Alban Bagbin said.
The Affirmative Action Bill, when passed into law, would seek to expunge the historically low representation of women in decision-making spaces and promote democracy and development through all-inclusive participation.
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