President and Founder of IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe, has questioned why the Electoral Commission of Ghana will not allow the National Identification Authority (NIA) to handle the 2024 election if the card being issued by the authority, the Ghana Card, must be the only document needed for voters’ registration.
According to him, per the justification being given by the commission on the need to use only the Ghana Card to register voters, the best thing to do is to let the NIA manage the elections.
In a series of tweets shared, on Tuesday, March 1, 2023, the IMANI boss posited that the NIA managing the election will ensure that only eligible voters are registered.
He added if the NIA is allowed to conduct the elections, it will not only ensure that only eligible voters get to take part in the election but it will save the country, millions of Ghana cedi.
“Here is a thought. The Electoral Commission (EC) believes the National Identification Authority's (NIA's) Card is the only fool-proof card every Ghanaian needs to be registered on the voter roll.
“In fact, in the last election 10 million out of 13.2 million voters registered with the NIA card. So why not allow the NIA to manage the elections without the need for the EC? NIA's officers can be deployed with their verification machines."
“After all the NIA card has every holder's biometric details and needed profile such as age, sex, occupation, etc. The system will accept only card holders aged 18 and above.
“We will be saving at least GHS 700m out of a potential GHS 1.5bn that may be budgeted for the EC to manage the elections. We also stand to save millions of $$ that the EC might suggest may be needed to upgrade their biometric verification systems,” the tweets he shared read.
The chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, Jean Mensa, called on Members of Parliament to support the decision of the commission to use the Ghana Card as the main source of identification for registration of new voters.
This, she says, is very important due to the evolving electoral process.
“Honourable members, it is in this vein we urge you to support the decision of the EC to rely on the Ghana card as the main source of identification for those who wish to register as voters. Our country has evolved, it is important that our electoral process evolves to meet the exigencies of times,” she said.
Jean Mensa was speaking during her appearance in Parliament to brief the committee of the whole on the controversial proposed Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) which is seeking to make the Ghana Card the only identification document to be used to guarantee citizenship if passed.
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If there were to be a Nobel prize for incompetence, IMANI Africa would have been the first recipients. Their paymasters are not in office so anything that happen in the country not good. Were there in the country when the NDC signed fifteen power purchase agreement of excess capacity which now costing us $s1 billion annually. The whole truth is when Jean Mensah assumed office, Bright Simmons, Frnaklin Cudjoe's and some other people formed a company with some Indians. They bided for the supply of the biometric machines and were unsuccessful hence the hate for the whole EC.
So if the GAF needs to depend on fuel from TOR to defend the Country, then is it better for them to let TOR to defend the Country? If the Ghana police service needs data from NIA to identify criminals, then is it better for the GP to leave policing to NIA? If GNFS needs water from CWSA to fight fires, then is it better for CWSA to be made responsible for fighting fires? If Doctors need drugs from the Pharmaceutical industry to cure the sick, then is it better for them to leave the hospitals for the pharmaceutical manufacturers?
Ah ah ah Franklin Cudjoe, simply myopic mind paaa
Tank you AB and Isaac, you've said all, This IMANI people are walking encyclopedia with ***barred word*** knowledge. Can Franklin Cudjoe suggest a document which can identify a person in the country more authentic than the Ghana card. If a card that can connect to your bank account, GRA TIN, NHS, SSNIT, etc is not authentic then what else do you need to proof as a Ghanaian. The fact that you have ancestral relatives in Togo does not mean they can come and vote in Ghana. You can maintain your cultural lineage and share ideas but when it comes to nationality there are not Ghanaians.
Indeed, Franklin Cudjoe is clueless just like his colleagues at IMANI. They don't even understand the synergistic effects of state institutions complementing each other by working together and leveraging ones outputs as inputs for another. EC and NIA are doing that and that is what is called synergy in management theory. I have happy to give Franklin Cudjoe and his IMANI people free lessons to broaden their thinking.
Look at the think tank founder who is supposed to know better making this sloppy argument...wow. Bright Simmons was proved wrong regarding his argument with EC on compiling electoral roll in 2020 elections and IMANI has not learnt any lesson. You will be shamed again. Pathetic souls.