Opinion › Feature Article       06.01.2019

How Sensible are the NDC Threatening the Electoral Commission and the National Identification Authority?

It behoves me to sooner dabble in political discourse contrary to my self-assured promise to stay away from politics and publications of any sort apart from the Kumawu chieftaincy dispute, and until I have penned my memoire. How can I perch on the fence, not give a hoot while the NDC are resolutely determined than never before to send into orbit their gleaned propaganda information with intent to dubiously wrestle power from the NPP in 2020? Where lies my patriotism if I failed to divulge the hollowness and craftiness of the known incompetent bunch of NDC “create, loot, and share” brigands?

I was not enthused at all about the bravado with which the NDC Deputy General Secretary, Otukonor, called a press conference only to issue threats to the Chair of the Electoral Commission and the National Identification Authority. In his press statement or conference, he stated with shameless audacity that the NDC will rain brimstone on Ghana should Ms Jean Mensah, the Chair of the Electoral Commission, constitute a new electoral/voter register for Election 2020. He wants the old well-known bloated register used in Election 2016 to be used.

His childish arguments only befitting the status of the “Ghana dee saa” brigand go as follow:

  1. Was it not the same claimed bloated voter register that was used to bring the NPP to power on Wednesday, 7 December 2016? Why should they today be seeking to clean it through the reconstitution of a new voter register?
  2. Ms Jean Mensah brought into office by His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is a known NPP member who is now in collusion with the NPP to rig Election 2020 for the NPP. She is incompetent as could be ascertained from the just ended referenda for the creation of additional six new regions in Ghana. The referenda were full of malpractices that have marred not only the credibility of the exercise but also, the integrity and impartiality of the Chair of the Electoral Commission, Mr Otukonor, asserted.

The NDC will make Ghana ungovernable by resorting to all means available to them come 2020 should the Electoral Commission dare make any changes to the existing voter register. He queries why the Electoral Commission and NPP have accepted to use the register they claim to lack credibility by way of being bloated to organise referenda for creating new regions that they are much happier about? They should not have used the same register if they were truly convinced that the register is bloated hence not fit for purpose.

On the National Identification Authority (NIA), Mr Otukonor has similarly issued threats to Prof. Ken Agyeman Attafuah, the Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA). He has dared him and his outfit to use the newly ongoing Ghana Identity Card as the basis of re-registering Ghanaian electorates onto any intended new national voter register. Should that happen, the NDC will cause a never seen socio-political meltdown, or a nationwide tsunamic disturbances to send not only cold chill down the spine of many a Ghanaian but also, put NPP and His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to flight. His insane argument is based on why the NIA are not accepting the current Voter ID card mostly acquired by many through the presentation of National Health Insurance Scheme card as a genuine identification of one’s Ghanaian nationality to register their holders to be issued a Ghana National Identity card? He sees no reason why the NIA are trying to disenfranchise many Ghanaians since most of them have no means whatsoever to meet the criteria set for recognising them as Ghanaians to be registered for Ghana National Identity Card.

What are the criteria set, if we mind to know? One must provide either one of the following to be accepted for registration as a Ghanaian citizen.

  1. Ghana birth certificate
  2. Ghana passport
  3. One family member who has a Ghana National Identity Card, or two friends or townsmen who have Ghana National Identity Card to swear an affidavit to vouch for a person who has neither Ghana birth certificate nor Ghana passport as being truly a Ghanaian citizen for such a person to be registered for, and issued, a Ghana National Identity Card.

I will cite one or two web links of my previously published arguments on why the NDC’s frivolous concerns over the modality of acquisition of Ghana Identity Card must be treated with a pinch of salt.

Read More: Former President Kufuor Needs Tutorials on the Requirements for National Identity Card

Read More: Why Are The NDC Vehemently Against The Requirements Set For Registering For Ghanaian National Identity Card?

Going forward, let me seize this opportunity to educate my Ghanaian compatriot Otukonor, on amendments and policy implementation. What is an amendment and what can be amended and when does an amendment take place? From Wikipedia, “An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements”. When there is a strong public perception, or a factual establishment of there being a defect in a policy, it is only rational to call for an amendment of the policy or law for it to work properly. Defect by dictionary definition is “a fault or problem in something or someone that spoils that thing or person or causes it, him, or her not to work correctly”

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) card used to register many people onto the voter register was a defect. The issuance of NHIS card to many a resident in Ghana was not based on their Ghanaian nationality but simply on the fact of the person’s presence in Ghana to facilitate their access to free healthcare. Therefore, morphing that card for usage to automatically acquire its holder a Ghanaian nationality as per the view of Otukonor and his NDC brigands is political incorrectness, if not an act of crime. Subsequently, that defect needs correcting hence NIA’s refusal to accept the current Voter’s Card acquired from the morphing of the NHIS card.

NIA have amended the policy to ensure that natives of Ghana, or foreigners that have naturalised as Ghanaians are the only people officially recognised and are subsequently issued with Ghana Identity Cards. Why then should there be any beef about this policy amendment by the unscrupulous, corrupt and little-minded NDC?

Do the members of the NDC think that Ghana is theirs and theirs alone to grant them the licence to intimidate non NDC members at their chosen? Do they think they can frighten us off even when they are in opposition? They must be playing with fire and the same fire will soon engulf them.

The fact that the NDC was born out of coup d’état, full of rogues and are mostly thieves, should not be an enough excuse for them to run roughshod over Ghanaians. The discerning Ghanaians will resist their bestial behaviour so Otukonor or whoever he is must take note.

His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, a visionary leader who has the welfare of Ghanaians at heart is implementing sound policies that have the long term potential to liberate Ghanaians from their socio-economic shackles. He is without any “create, loot and share” intention unlike the NDC under former President John Dramani Mahama, the Chief Rabbi of Corruption Galore.

CONCLUSION:

When there is an established policy or law, regardless of its defectiveness, it still stands valid until an amendment has been made to it. While an amendment is in the process of making, the policy in place is still applicable. This is the reason why the alleged bloated voter register was recently used for the referenda to create the six additional new regions in Ghana but not just that it is damn valid without blemish. Therefore, the reasoning by Otukonor questioning the integrity of the NPP for accepting same voter register for Election 2016 and the just ended referenda does not hold water. What else did he expect NPP to do? To stay away from Election 2016 as they did in the parliamentary election of 1992?

In the United Kingdom, when the Tory government of former British Prime Minister David Cameron decided to amend the Council Housing policy for Council accommodations to reflect or be nearly in line with the rents of private accommodation, the amendment did not take place at the crack of the finger. While in consultation and formulating the amended policy, the renting out of Council accommodation was not put on hold. They were being allocated to tenants at the same existing rate until the amendment had been effected to up the rent as intended by the Prime Minister. He did not say that the rent was too low so he was going to put on hold the lettings of the Council houses or flats until he was done with his proposed amendment to the Council policy to reflect the higher rent changes he desired.

There must be a new voter register, purged of all possible anomalies as based on registration of electorates presenting genuinely issued Ghana identity cards but not on the current voter’s card obtained through the free tomatoes-dishing NHIS card.

The NDC members can weep the tears of crimson, or they can go to hell to seek the assistance of Satan, who cares? Election 2020 will see a new and pruned national voter register to use to conduct the elections.

I dedicate this publication to all discerning and selfless Ghanaians, especially, Yaw Skido the Italiano and James the Americano!

Rockson Adofo

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