Progressive People’s Party (PPP), has described the move by the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) to compile a new voters’ register ahead of the 2020 general elections as needless and uneconomical.
According to the PPP, if the compilation of a new voters’ register is considered urgent, the EC should make proper use of the National Identification System instead of wasting national resources.
“We believe that the compilation of any new voters register without the utilization of the National Identification System infrastructure is needless and a waste of precious and scarce resources of the Republic of Ghana.”
In a press statement released today, signed by the National Chairman, Nii Allotey Brew-Hammond, and cited by ghananewsonline.com.gh, the PPP expressed their disappointment in the plan to compile a new voters’ register whilst government has already used up resources in launching and implementing GhanaCard registration.
“We were disappointed not least by the excessive partisanship that characterised the approval by the NPP majority in parliament but more so when we, the government and people of Ghana, have launched and begun the implementation of the GhanaCard under the auspices of the National Identification Authority (NIA).”
They asserted that a single National identification System will be ideal for the country’s finances whereas the multiplicity currently being witnessed further impoverishes the country.
“The PPP has been an advocate for a single national identification database to be shared by state and private organizations. SSNIT, GRA, NHIS, EC, Birth and Death Registry, the Passport Office and all other State agencies have gone their separate ways. They spent taxpayer funds to build and maintain separate biometric systems… The taxpayer suffers and the economy takes a backward step every time that happens.”
They argued that, there are more pressing issues that the government can channel its resources to instead of compiling an “unnecessary” voters’ register.
“Teachers are crying for arrears to be paid. Contractors are desperately waiting for certified projects to be paid. As a result, completed projects are not being certified. Some indigenous financial institutions have lost their licenses because of the “no money syndrome” and the unwillingness to clear so-called “legacy debts”. And yet, the NPP Administration can find GHC440 million for a “wanted but not necessary” new voters’ register”
The party strongly recommended that, if urgent, the EC should compile the new voters’ register from National Identification System to protect the public purse.
Source: Jonas Danquah || ghananewsonline.com.gh