Politics

We will implement ’24-hour Economy’ gradually — Mahama

Published

4 months ago

August 14, 2024

John Dramani Mahama

Mr John Dramani Mahama, National Democratic Congress (NDC) Flagbearer, says implementation of the proposed “24-hour Economy” agenda would be done gradually when he is elected in December.

He said some state institutions and agencies could start working 24 hours whereas the private sector would take up the policy voluntarily and be offered incentives to that effect.

Mr Mahama was answering questions at the NDC Town Hall Meeting dubbed, “Conversations With Mahama” at the Bukom Boxing Arena in Accra.

“It [24-hour Economy] is not going to be one night event, it is a process and voluntary. On the part of government, we have what we control…For instance, we can ask Customs to start working 24 hours because it is a state agency.

“We can ask the port to work 24 hours so that people can clear their goods at any time in the day or the night…Anything to do with state agencies, we can do 24 hours because we control that.

“With regard to manufacturing and [private] businesses, it is voluntary; you cannot go and compel people and say, by this day, you must start working three shifts; so, you have to give them incentives,” he noted.

The incentives, he explained, could be in the form of low interest loans and tax waivers for private businesses to expand production and employ more people.

“It is not going be an overnight thing but we will start the process and it is our hope that we will go far with it in four years and any government that comes, can continue with the policy.” Mr Mahama stated.

“24-hour Economy” is one of the lead campaign messages of the NDC, intended to help improve the economic fortunes of the country and create jobs for the youth.

The “Mahama Conversations” which coincided with International Youth Day, afforded young people the opportunity to interact with the NDC Presidential Candidate as he sought to justify why the electorate must give him the nod in the 2024 election.

Mr Mahama reiterated his commitment to abolish some taxes, including the 10 per cent tax on betting income, COVID-19 Levy, and E-levy, introduced by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.

He added that his administration would explore other avenues to help plug the revenue gap that would be created following cancellation of the identified levies.

The former President said the next NDC administration would work to create jobs in other sectors of the economy for unemployed youth, instead of them clamouring to join the security services due to limited job opportunities.

He reaffirmed the prosecution of corrupt government officials, saying: “The greatest fight against corruption is not prosecuting political opponents but prosecuting your own [party] people.”

Other NDC policies, the Flagbearer mentioned, were provision of mechanised services to farmers, establishing agro-processing centres to help reduce post-harvest losses, and supporting agri-businesses to produce more food for local consumption and export.

In addition to draft initiatives in the creative arts sector, Mr Mahama says he plans to invest in sports, nurture young talents, and help Ghana regain its lost glory in various sporting disciplines.

Party supporters from various locations gave Mr Mahama and Madam Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, Vice-Presidential Candidate, a rousing welcome as they arrived at the Arena at about 7:50 pm for the forum.

Mr Nii Lantey Vanderpuje, Member of Parliament (MP) for Odododiodio, Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuje, Ablekuma South MP, Mr Sam George, Prampram MP, and other party executives attended the programme.

GNA

Politics

EC manipulating voter’s register to influence election outcome – NDC alleges

Published

3 months ago

September 18, 2024

Net News Ghana

The Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Rashid Tanko-Computer, has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of manipulating the voter’s register, describing it as a covert strategy to influence the outcome of the upcoming elections.

In an interview with Joy News, Dr Tanko-Computer expressed serious concerns over the EC’s recent handling of the electoral roll, claiming that discrepancies and irregularities in the register could pave the way for election malpractice.

“The EC is manipulating the voter’s register, and since observers are not noticing these changes, they assume everything is in order. But by the time they realize what’s happening, it’s too late—the register has already been tampered with. As a result, we could head into the election using a tainted register, allowing illegalities to occur,” Dr Tanko-Computer asserted.

The NDC official further criticised the EC for allegedly bypassing legal procedures for voter transfers.

He explained that while CI 91 governs the overall voter registration process, transfers should be conducted under CI 127, Regulation 22. According to Dr Tanko-Computer, the EC has ignored this provision.

“Voters are required to appear before a returning officer with their voter ID to request a transfer. For instance, if a voter moves from Accra to Kumasi and wishes to vote in Bantama, they must appear in person, provide biometric data, and have their details updated accordingly,” he explained.

However, he accused the EC, under the leadership of Chairperson Jean Mensa, of transferring voters remotely using only voter ID numbers and photographs, without any face-to-face interaction with returning officers. “For the first time, we are seeing voter transfers happening from the EC office, without voters physically appearing before officers,” he added.

Dr Tanko-Computer also raised alarm over what he called the existence of multiple versions of the voter’s register. During a meeting between the NDC and the EC, the party discovered that the register presented to them was different from the one made public.

“We realised the EC was operating with at least three versions of the voter’s register. When we questioned this and requested the corrected version, the EC failed to provide us with any updates. It seems they are working with information we are not privy to,” he stated.

The NDC has called on the Electoral Commission to address these concerns urgently, warning that the credibility of the entire election process could be compromised if the discrepancies are not resolved.

He urged the EC to provide full transparency in their operations and release an accurate and unified version of the voter’s register to all political stakeholders.

The NDC held a nationwide protest on Tuesday, September 17, demanding that the EC must allow an independent audit of the register.

Source:Myjoyonline.com

Politics

EC responds to NDC petition

Published

3 months ago

September 18, 2024

Net News Ghana

The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) has responded to a petition submitted by the opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC).The Electoral Commission in a statement indicated that they have received the petition submitted by the NDC at the end of their demonstration on Tuesday, September 17, 2024.

According to them, Commission will review the petition and provide its response in the coming days.

“The Commission wishes to assure the General Public that the process of producing the Final Register is in its early stages,” they added.

The Commission further added that it is mindful that the Voters Register is the bedrock of credible, fair and transparent Elections.

“We assure the NDC and all Stakeholders of our avowed commitment to delivering a credible and robust Final Register ahead of the December 2024 Elections

In the meantime, our doors remain open,” EC stated.

They concluded “We look forward to engaging the NDC on their concerns.”

Source: thespectatoronline.com

Politics

Choose transformative leaders, not self-serving ones – Twum-Barimah-Adu tells Ghanaians

Published

3 months ago

September 10, 2024

Net News Ghana

Independent Presidential Candidate George Twum-Barimah-Adu has urged Ghanaians to elect leaders who can transform the country, rather than those driven by personal interests.

He made this call after submitting his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission on September 9, 2024, to contest the 2024 Presidential Election.

Twum-Barimah-Adu emphasised the need for transformative and visionary leaders, qualities he believes he possesses.

“There is so much Ghana wants to offer all her children if only her children will choose to elect leaders who are capable, bold, transformative and visionary. Not leaders who are partisan and for that matter parochial”, he said.

Twum-Barimah-Adu also bemoaned the term “Independent Presidential Candidate,” which refers to individuals running without party affiliation.

He advocated for all presidential aspirants to be referred to simply as “Presidential Candidates.”

Twum-Barimah-Adu is amongst dozens of individuals who will be running without the backing of a political party in the December 7th presidential election.

Twum-Barimah-Adu aims to break the dominance of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parties in Ghana’s 4th Republic.

The tech entrepreneur promises to bring common prosperity to all Ghanaians if elected President.

Source: citinewsroom.com