More voters get photo ID cards in Birim
South District
National Labour
Commission to be set up
Armed robbers
attack passengers on Mankessim-Winneba road
Girl dies after machine explosion
Police will address polling irregularities –
Nanfuri
Large polling stations may have more voting
booths – Kangah
Don't use voters ID cards as travelling
document – EC
Central Region lost 1.6 billion cedis worth
of property to fire
NDC has plunged the country into problems -
Osafo-Marfo
NRP has capacity to turn the economy around
Naadu inaugurates Otuopai Queenmothers society
Accra (Greater Accra) 24 November
2000
Two weeks to the December 7
election, the seven political parties are divided over the Electoral
Commission's (EC's) decision that only those with the Photo Identification
Cards could vote.
While some interpret it as
disenfranchisement of those still holding thumbprint ID cards, others see it as
a good administrative measure to combat electoral fraud.
In separate interviews with the
Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra, the People's National Convention (PNC),
United Ghana Movement (UGM) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) were
against any administrative measures that will disenfranchise some voters.
The Convention People's Party
(CPP) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), however, support the "No Photo,
No Vote" decision by the EC.
Professor Kofi Awoonor, a
Vice-Chairman of the NDC, appealed to the EC to come out with a definite
position on the issue.
According to him, "there is
confusion in the minds of millions of Ghanaians particularly those who could
not have their pictures taken, though they are registered voters, as to what
their position will be on Election Day."
Prof. Awoonor said: "We speak
on behalf of not only NDC would-be voters ...but also on behalf of the millions
of Ghanaians who qualify to vote and have their names on the register."
Mr Ahmed Ramadan, National
Treasurer of the PNC, said the issue of photo ID is an administrative
procedure, which should not be used as a hindrance to the constitutional right
of a voter.
He said the political parties
agreed to the use of photo ID cards for easy identification and not to
disenfranchise a registered voter.
Mr Ramadan reiterated an earlier
position of the EC Deputy Director of Operations, Mr David Adeenze-Kangah, that
if the photo ID is made mandatory, parties could manipulate and collect the ID
cards of opponents thereby preventing them from voting.
Citing another instance that could
prevent a registered voter from casting his ballot, Mr Ramadan said a husband
could collect the card of his wife or child who, he knows, belongs to a
different political party to disenfranchise them.
He said: "although electoral
fraud is criminal, it is equally criminal to prevent an eligible voter from
exercising his or her constitutional franchise."
Mr Ramadan called for a proper
procedure for identifying registered voters without the Photo ID on polling day
to avoid confrontation.
Mr Joseph Otoo Essiifie, Public
Relation Officers of United Ghana Movement (UGM), questioned the rational
behind refusing a voter with a thumbprint card if only one party agent raises
an objection.
Mr Essilfie said an election is a
competition and the EC should not expect all party agents to agree on such a
critical issue, especially in the stronghold of an opponent.
He suggested that those with
thumbprint ID cards should be allowed to vote, but should form a different
queue to be scrutinised properly before voting.
Mr Essilfie said he entertains the
fear that where all the party agents except one of them agree, there is the
likelihood of a voter organising thugs to beat that agent up.
Dr Abubakr Al-Hassan, National
Chairman of the Convention People's Party (CPP), however, upheld the "No
Photo, No Voting" school of thought.
He said: "Every game has a
rule which all competing teams must abide by. If the rule for election 2000 is
No Photo, No Voting, so be it".
Dr Al-Hassan said the campaign
tour of the CPP has taken them throughout the country and they are yet to hear
complains of people not having the photo.
Mr Dan Botwe, General Secretary of
NPP, who was cautious to comment, appealed to the EC to explain its working
document, "Guide to Election Officials 2000" saying this will clear
the confusion surrounding the photo ID issue.
He said all measures must be put
in place to check electoral cheating. "However, this should not lead to a
constitutional crisis".
GRi../
More voters get photo ID cards in Birim
South District
Akim Oda (Eastern Region) 24 November 2000
At least 75 percent of the registered voters in the Akim Oda and Akim Swedru constituencies of the Birim South District have so far replaced their thumb printed identity cards with photo Ids.
The District Electoral Officer, Mr Kwaku Owusu-Addo disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Akim Oda on Wednesday.
He attributed the good turn out to the active involvement of the political parties, who are keen to ensure that their supporters get the photo ID. Mr Owusu-Addo said he is convinced that majority of eligible voters in the area have obtained their photo ID cards.
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National Labour
Commission to be set up
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 24
November 2000
An independent National Labour
Commission will be set up when the new Labour Draft Bill is passed into law. The
commission would be responsible for labour matters, which is being performed by
the Labour Department, Mr Akwasi Adu-Amankwaah, Secretary-General of the Trades
Union Congress (TUC), disclosed in Kumasi on Wednesday.
The commission, he said, would be
headed by a chairperson whose position would be equivalent to that of an Appeal
Court Judge to be appointed by the President on the recommendations of the TUC
and the Ghana Employers Association (GEA).
Mr Adu-Amankwaah was closing the
two-day meeting of the Ashanti Region Council of Labour, which deliberated on
the TUC's voter education programme and the outcome of the recent quadrennial
delegates' conference held in Kumasi.
According to him, the TUC, the GEA
and the Government will select members whose ranks would be equivalent to High
Court Judges.
The Secretary-General said that for
the first time in many years, the TUC showed that it has the welfare of workers
at heart when it demonstrated against the government's position on the daily
minimum wage.
He said the Congress therefore got
the government to move away from its entrenched position of paying 3,250 cedis
as the daily minimum wage to 4,200.
Mr Adu-Amankwaah said, although
the TUC knows that the new minimum wage is not enough, it had to compromise so
that the matter would not be dragged into next year.
He disclosed that the TUC got a
firm undertaking from the Tripartite Committee that they would reconvene next
year to deliberate on it again.
The Secretary-General said the TUC
wants a probe into the operations of SSNIT to know exactly what is happening.
Mr Adu-Amankwaah urged workers to
develop the habit of saving towards their retirement by taking providence
insurance to supplement what SSNIT would pay them on retirement.
Mr Kofi Asamoah, Deputy
Secretary-General of the TUC (Operations), expressed concern about lack of
co-operation, which sometimes exists between some Regional Secretaries of the
Congress and Industrial Relations Officers (IROs).
GRi../
Armed robbers
attack passengers on Mankessim-Winneba road
Mankessim (Central Region) 24
November 2000
Four armed men last Tuesday
attacked passengers on a Winneba-bound Nissan Urvan mini bus from Mankessim and
robbed them of unspecified sums of money.
One of the victims, Mr Kwesi
Ofori, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Mankessim that at about 2000 hours
that day, the driver, Mr Kobina Ebo, stopped at a place about one kilometre to
Ekumfi Eyisam on discovering that one of the tyres had developed a puncture.
Mr Ofori said in the process of
changing the deflated tyre, four armed men emerged from the bush and attacked
them and collecting all monies they had on them.
"I parted with 20,000 cedis
while the women who were returning from market had all the day's sales taken
away from them", he added
Mr Kwesi Baffoe, an executive
member of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) at Apam- Winneba
station at Mankessim, advised traders and market women to wind up their
businesses on market days on time and get back home early.
GRi../
Accra (Greater Accra) 24 November 2000
A seminar on the advanced use of dogs in rescue operations, maintaining security and crime detection opened in Accra on Thursday.
The seminar is to encourage the use of dogs especially in security work. About 20 participants, including veterinary officers, security personnel and dog handlers are attending the seminar under the theme, "Dogs for Work, Dogs for Pleasure."
It is being jointly organised by the Dog Academy and Security Services of Ghana and the Police Dog Institute for Consultancy and Management of South Africa.
Warrant Officer Frank Addo, Managing Director of Dog Academy and Security Services, told the GNA that dogs are capable of performing various duties such as rescue work during disaster, detection of explosives and tracking down of criminals. However, he said, their use in Ghana is limited as compared to developed countries.
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Girl dies after machine explosion
Aboabo-Nyigbe (Volta Region) 24 November 2000
A Sixteen-year-old girl, Miss Georgina Afi Bani, died at the Worawora Government Hospital in the Jasikan District on Wednesday after she had sustained burns from a cassava grating machine which exploded.
Eye- witness reports said the owner of the machine, Kudjo Agbleke was re-fuelling it while the engine was on causing the explosion. The accident occurred at the farm where the grating was taking place.
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Police will address polling irregularities
– Nanfuri
Accra (Greater Accra) 24 November 2000
The Police Service has set up elections monitoring team to go round polling stations to address complaints of irregularities on voting day.
Complaint forms will be made available at polling stations for persons with reservations about the conduct of the polls to fill and hand over to members of the team, made up of police personnel who have been trained for that purpose.
Mr Peter Nanfuri, Inspector General of Police (IGP) announced this on Thursday at a meeting with Editors and Senior Journalists in Accra.
The meeting had been preceded by a similar one with the political party leadership to find common grounds for the maintenance of peace in the run-up to the elections on December 7.
Mr Nanfuri said all policemen would be on duty that day, for which reason holiday leave has been cancelled while those already on leave have been recalled.
He stressed the need to avoid the "pitiful spectacle of political violence" that has gripped other African countries and appealed for "good behaviour in the name of love for the country."
Mr Nanfuri identified the photo identity card issue as a factor likely to cause confusion in the elections and said he hopes the Electoral Commission would urgently address complaints arising from it before polling day.
He said statements from people denied ID cards indicate that they are determined to do anything possible to exercise their franchise.
On calls for the Police to investigate allegations by Alhaji Issaka Inussah, a leading member of the NDC, that he helped the NPP rigged the Ablekuma Central bye-election, Mr Nanfuri said the police would act only after it received a written statement.
Describing the allegation as "political talk", he asked Alhaji Innusah, the NPP or any citizen to come forward and complain formally to the police.
"NPP should not just ask us to investigate, they should come and tell us in writing what we should investigate," he stressed.
He said the police have three principal modes of accessing information through the media, tip-offs and through the police own internal systems, including patrols and intelligence network.
The journalists drew the IGP's attention to the contradiction between the stand of the police on the Innusah issue and the arrest of a man who claimed on television that he was the brain behind the recent serial murder of women.
This dragged the issue for some time but the IGP stuck to his guns, saying, the police undertake investigations based on formal complaints.
He said it is not that the police are reluctant to investigate the matter but that they have difficulties in getting the facts, which are "ingredients of crime needed for investigation".
Mr Nanfuri advised the media to desist from to publishing misleading and inflammatory matters that may "lead the police into the pitfall of embarking upon the adventure of hasty arrests that could lead to instability and insecurity".
He said the police would welcome credible information on people whose conduct has the potential of destabilising the country.
GRi…/
Large polling stations may have more voting
booths – Kangah
Accra (Greater Accra) 24 November 2000
Mr David Adeenze-Kangah, Deputy Chairman (Operations) of the Electoral Commission (EC), on Thursday said some polling stations may have two or more polling booths to facilitate voting in the December elections.
"The more polling booths there are at a station the faster the voting process would be as people will not have to wait in the queue for a slow voter to go through before taking his or her turn," he said.
Mr Kangah said this at a one-day training workshop for 40 election observers of the Institute for Democratic Governance (IDEG) in Accra. IDEG is a non-partisan organisation questing for transparent, credible, peaceful, free and fair elections.
Speaking on the topic: "The Ghana Electoral Process: from voting to declaration of results," Mr Kangah said voting would start at 0700 hours and end at 1700 hours with the entire process taking place in the open view of the public.
He said agents of political parties or candidates would be allowed at polling stations to observe proceedings.
Presiding Officers in charge of polling stations would inspect the ballot papers in the presence of the agents, enter the total number, show the ballot box to the public to ascertain that it is empty and then place it in the open for voting.
Mr Kangah said the ballot paper would bear the names of candidates, parties and symbols. Voting will be in secret even though it will be in the open.
Mr Kangah said every voter in the queue at the polling stations at the close of poll at 1700 hours, would be allowed to vote. Counting of ballot starts immediately after the last vote is cast.
He said the presiding officer might extend the voting period if circumstances prevent the start of poll at 0700 hours.
At the close of polling, the Presiding officer will open the ballot box in the presence of party agents and any other person who would like to witness it at a reasonable distance.
The presiding officer would sort out ballots cast in favour of each candidate, count them one by one to the hearing of those present. Once everybody is satisfied, it is recorded on the Result Form. The presiding officer will sign the form while the agents will certify it and the results recorded.
The presiding officer will then publicly announce the results and a signed copy given to the party, candidate or agent.
"It is to be noted that once the results of a polling station have been certified in this way, the ballot papers are not counted again anywhere," Mr Kangah said.
He said even though each polling station declares its own results, "the overall winner of the election for the constituency is not known until all polling stations within the constituency have been added up."
Each presiding officer submits a copy of the Result Form to the returning officer at the constituency centre for collation in the presence of the candidates or their agents.
Mr Kangah said returning officers sign the Result Form counter-signed by the candidate or agent after which he publicly announces the result and declares the winner for the constituency for both the presidential and parliamentary.
He said it should be noted that the declaration of a winner for the parliamentary at the constituency centre "ends it provided there is no dispute". The result is transmitted through the EC Regional Director to the Head Office in Accra for gazetting.
Mr Kangah said in the case of the presidential election, the whole country is considered as a constituency, "so the separate declarations of the winner in the 200 parliamentary constituencies cannot be the end, until all are added up."
He said the EC Regional Directors in the presence of candidates or their agents add up the scores from each constituency to determine the overall winner for the regions.
The regional and constituency results are sent to the EC Head Office and added up for the declaration of the national winner by the Chairman of the Commission who is the Returning Officer for the presidential election.
Mr Kangah said the process leading to the declaration of the final results of the presidential and parliamentary elections is thoroughly decentralised and transparent.
"The results of presidential election are first declared at 20,000 polling stations, 200 constituency centres and ten regional capitals before they are finally transmitted to the EC head office in Accra," he said.
Dr Baffour Agyemang-Duah of Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) explaining the challenges of election observers cautioned them against involvement in the process.
He said: "You are not election monitors or security personnel, but you are to observe the actions and in-actions at the polling station and its immediate environs."
Dr Agyemang-Duah, who is also the co-ordinator of Coalition of Domestic Election Date Observers (CODEO), said the report of election observers of the poll enhances the credibility of the results.
He, therefore, urged them to be vigilant, "as it is difficult to trust anybody during elections."
GRi…/
Saltpond (Central Region) 24 November 2000
The Convention People's Party (CPP) parliamentary candidate for Mfantseman West, Nana William Kofi Buckman, said on Wednesday that Ghanaians will live to regret it if they return the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to power in the December general election.
Addressing a rally at Nankesedo, a suburb of Saltpond, to explain the party's manifesto to the people, Nana Buckman said even though the NDC has chalked some successes during its eight-year rule, huge loans obtained from abroad for development were not commensurate with the pace of the country's development. He therefore asked Ghanaians to effect a change by voting the CPP to power for better governance.
GRi…/
Don't use voters ID cards as travelling
document – EC
Apam (Central Region) 24 November 2000
An official of the Electoral Commission (EC) has advised registered voters to preserve their voter ID cards and desist from using them as travelling documents.
Mr Frank Nunoo, Gomoa District Electoral Officer, said the cards were provided at great cost to the country and carrying them about carelessly could destroy them in no time.
Mr Nunoo was addressing a training workshop for 100 domestic election observers at Apam in the Gomoa district.
The Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the European Union collaborated to organise the workshop.
He said to increase public confidence in the electoral process and give credence to results of the polls it is necessary to get independent observers.
Miss Eva Maria Kohler, Director of the Friedrich Nuamann Foundation in West Africa, said the foundation, in partnership with CODEO and CDD, is training 5,500 observers throughout the country for next month's general election.
GRi…/
Central Region lost 1.6 billion cedis worth
of property to fire
Cape Coast (Central Region) 24 November 2000
Central Region lost property estimated at 1.644 billion cedis to fire outbreaks last year, Mr Jacob Arthur, Central Regional Minister, made this known in a speech read for him at the launch of the 'Regional Fire Safety Fund' at Cape Coast on Wednesday.
The fund is the second to be launched in the country. The establishment of the fund will enable the service to solicit assistance from individuals and the private sector to supplement government's annual budgetary allocations to the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), to enable it to discharge its responsibilities effectively.
The minister, who is also the chairman of the regional fire service committee, said apart from their negative impact on the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), fires inflict pain, agony and anguish on victims.
He said this could, however, be avoided if preventive measures are taken. Mr Arthur said the government has spent 14 billion cedis on the Fire Service over the last five years, to facilitate its work. An appeal for funds yielded 3.6 million cedis.
GRi…/
NDC has plunged the country into problems -
Osafo-Marfo
Mpraeso (Eastern Region) 24 November 2000
The NPP parliamentary candidate for Akim Oda, Mr Yaw Osafo-Marfo has called upon Ghanaians to unite to eliminate tendencies that militate against national unity and development.
He said bad governance and mismanagement of resources by the ruling NDC has plunged the country into poverty, hunger, injustice and unemployment among other forms of hardship.
Mr Osafo- Marfo, who is the incumbent MP and Minority Spokesman on Trade and Industry, was addressing an NPP rally at Mpraeso in the Kwahu South district.
He said Ghanaians had been living together as one people with a common destiny but the NDC has now divided the country.
He therefore called on Ghanaians to vote for the NPP in the up-coming elections to unseat the NDC and ensure national unity, peace and harmony as well as effective management of the country's economy.
Mr Osafo-Marfo accused the NDC of selling cutlasses, kerosene and other essential items to the rural people at subsidised prices to influence them to vote for the party.
This, he said would not prevent the NPP from winning the general election and advised its supporters to avoid any electoral malpractice on December 7.
The MP for Asante Akyem North, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu said the NPP's manifesto specifies ways of finding solution to the nation's problems.
He said the NPP would return the presidential jet to where it was purchased and use the 100 million cedis being paid by the country daily for five years to revamp the agriculture sector.
GRi…/
NRP has capacity to turn the economy around
Aflao (Volta Region) 24 November 2000
Mr Aryie Quarshie Henyo, Ketu-South parliamentary candidate for the National Reform Party (NRP), has called on the electorate to vote the party into power because it has the capacity to improve the economy.
He said an NRP government would also fight corruption in all sectors of the economy and ensure that funds meant for development projects are not misappropriated.
Mr Henyo, a former Presiding Member of the Ketu District Assembly, was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview on Tuesday at Aflao.
He assured the electorate that when elected to parliament, he would face-lift Aflao to befit its status as a gateway by completing the border complex, rehabilitate all roads in the constituency and provide markets, schools and potable water.
Mr Henyo promised to eliminate guinea worm from the district, establish small-scale industries as well as initiate measures to improve agriculture, thereby, creating jobs for the youth.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 24 November 2000
Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills, wife of the Vice President, on Thursday inaugurated the Otuopia "Yei Tsokuiano Traloi Akpee", a society for Queenmothers in the Ga Otuopai divisional area, which is to serve as a unifying force for the advancement of the people of GaAdagme.
The society, with Naa Akuyea Shika I, Queenmother of Otuopai, as its president, is also to foster closer co-operation among its members in all areas of human endeavour and to help members of the Ga traditional area to live decent lives socially and economically.
Mrs Mills said the time has come for GaAdagmes to reawaken and take their place in the affairs of the Ga State. She expressed regret that most GaAdagmes do not strive to attain high educational standards even though education is essential for the wellbeing of every society.
She urged them to sacrifice and support their children to achieve high educational standards since it is the only tool to make them prosper in life.
Touching on language, she said other Ghanaian languages have overshadowed the Ga language. Most often, she noted, teachers of Ga in some schools are not Gas and therefore do not teach the children correctly. She urged them to propel the Ga language by speaking it at any given opportunity.
Mrs Mills presented 15 cartons of soft drinks, some NDC party 'T' shirts and cash of two million cedis to members of the society and asked for their support in the forthcoming elections.
GRi../