body-container-line-1

Stop The Compilation Of The New Voter's Register And Concentrate On Fighting Corona Virus, Our Common Enemy

Yentik Gariba Writes To President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
Feature Article Stop The Compilation Of The New Voter's Register And Concentrate On Fighting Corona Virus, Our Common Enemy
MAY 15, 2020 LISTEN

My motivation to write to you on the above caption is occasioned by the Health Minister's recent comments on government position on coronavirus. The Health Minister stated very emphatically that whether we like it or not, the novel coronavirus has come to live with us! This was telecast live on Joy news channel on the 14th May 2020. This public statement on the part of the minister justifies the fact that President Nana Akufo Addo's government has exhibited a high sense of incompetence, negligence and ungratefulness in the management of the pandemic coronavirus.

He, the Health Minister's comments come following government decision to go ahead to support EC with the necessary PPEs and logistics it needed to bulldoze its way through, with the New Register mantra.

The question to ask here is; the new register and our fight against the pandemic, which is more important or pressing?

As at the last(9th) presidential address on coronavirus, Ghana official case count was 4700. And as I speak now, confirmed cases stood at 5,530. This is after government indicated that Ghana had reached its peak; meaning the cases would drop in terms of increasing rates. While the government has already gone for a loan from IMF to help fight the pandemic, the same government is promising the EC that it would support it to go ahead with the new register registration exercise. The question is, where does government get the money to fund the new register project in the midst of a pandemic-ridden economy? It is important to state that the outbreak of the coronavirus has brought about three critical development backwardness of a national dimension. One, the global pandemic has posed a serious human security risk to all Ghanaians in terms of getting infected with the virus which makes it illogical to gather people to-gather for any activity. Even on the issue of the so-called 94 hospitals yo be built, it is important to state that not only were they not budgeted for but also a crumpled economy cannot afford even the budgeted projects let alone unbudgeted ones. It is quite clear that the government of Nana Addo takes too much delight and undeserved popularity in making populist speeches that only inure to his own benefit and not for the welfare of the ordinary Ghanaian.

The pandemic has also thrown our economy out of gear. Most of the departments and agencies that had been our core source of revenue barely bring in anything following the pandemic outbreak.

Again, the pandemic has affected the reasonable period that the new register exercise could have been carried out without concerns. For instance, the electoral commission's proposed time which was scheduled in April has passed. Even with April, people came out and said it was too close to elections. Today, we are in May, and there is still no signs of hope as to when the exercise would take place. Yet, we hear the electoral commission saying all is ready to carry on with the exercise. Are we serious as people?

It is instructive to state that the motivations behind the government of Nana Akufo Addo's intention to go ahead with the new register mantra despite the above-stated obstacles are based on parochial self-centred interest that wouldn't inure to the benefit of the good people of Ghana. It is clear that Nana Akufo Addo has given up his fight against coronavirus in order that he and his government would use the money meant for fighting the virus to help him to support his political campaigns. By all indications, president Nana AkufonAddo is of the view, if he is to concentrate on fighting coronavirus, he would undoubtedly lose the December 2020 elections. Hence, his decision to prioritise the election's over the lives of Ghanaians.

As Ghanaians, we have had to change our voter's registers in the past but these changes were not done under broken economy nor life threatened pandemic like we have today.

Ghanaians deserve better in the midst of this pandemic!

Nana Akufo Addo must show leadership, otherwise, our great historians are closely monitoring the developments in his administration, and posterity would not be enthused reading his legacy as statesman who once ruled the nation.

I wish to conclude by calling on His excellency, the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa-Akufo Addo, to as a matter of urgency prioritise the lives of Ghanaians over any other material considerations by kicking stop the new voter's register mantra and concentrate our resources, energies and efforts towards fighting coronavirus in order to leave a legacy worthy of emulation by the present and the future unborn.

Thank you!

God bless Ghana!

God bless us all!

Yentik Gariba

Lead Person

Concerned Democratic Advocates for Positive Change Ghana

Northeast region

Sakogu

[email protected]

0243054204

body-container-line