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Opinions of Monday, 28 April 2014

Columnist: Yawose, John

National Identification? Forget it under NDC/Mahama

National Identification System will never be realised in Ghana until NDC are committed to it. And NPP have to act and follow as 'fools' until NDC are ready for it. NDC know their electoral fortunes will dip if National Identification is in place. NDC will keep on frustrating it. It’s a wonder our nextdoor neighbours; Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Togo have had National ID systems in place since 1960’s. Ghana alone does not see the wisdom to prosecute National Identification. Nkrumah’s CPP never really liked the idea. Rawlings NDC never liked it either. Mills/Mahama NDC still are not committed to it. The CPP/NDC political leanings alone understand their adversarial stance on the matter. Dear Reader, why do you think it is so? Serious efforts at discussing and prosecuting National Identification in Ghana come into play only when the Danquah/ Busia/Dombo tradition controls Ghana political administration. During Busia and Kufuor times, vigorous initiatives were pursued to complete National Identification System but alas, the administrations’ controls were curtailed and the issue has still been stillborn even under Mahama/NDC.



How come that Mahama administration should suspend National Identification commenced by his predecessor, because of some 30/40 Gh cedis needed to complete the exercise? It is all a matter of priority or rather misplaced priorities arising from some phobia/inertia about the implications of the system -as far as their (NDC) electoral fortunes are concerned. Woyome was paid 51m Gh cedis. CP was paid €94m. GYEEDA was given 800m Gh cedis. Watervile, Isofoton, SUBAH, SADA, Rockshell were all dubiously paid several hundreds of millions of cedis. They were the priorities for Mahama. NDC/Mahama are not interested in any ordered system. They just don’t like a well organised system. NDC/Mahama somehow think they will only just thrive in the disorderly electoral environment. So they will do everything to perpetuate the disorder for them to exploit. Immorally and without sensitivities, they never feel ashamed hiding behind -‘Lack of Funds’ to stagnate National ID implementation.



Similarly, ROPAAL will never work in Ghana unless NDC agree to it. This is a law passed in 2005 to give opportunity to registered Ghanaians abroad to cast their votes in selected locations in the countries they are domiciled, during Presidential voting in Ghana. NDC as usual,are opposed to it citing non-existent and illusory impediments. Malians, Burkinabes, Ivoirians, Nigerians and other nationals from our neighbours, mainly French Speaking countries, domiciled in Ghana, have been seen lined up at their countries’ embassies in Accra exercising their rights to vote during their countries’ Presidential elections. As far back as 1960’s during Nkrumah’s administration, these foreign nationals have voted in Ghana for their preferred candidates. They are still voting. How Ghana alone is not still able to do this exercise in 50 years is a mystery. Is Ghana constituted of different breed of people such that we alone have an Electoral Commissioner who is incapable and at the same time is able to convince us all that performing the ROPAAL is beyond his limits or our limits? NDC have made ROPAAL some fetish. To me, the -No ROPAAL- is all a NDC grand wicked manoeuvre to bastardize the idea with a willing Electoral Commissioner doing the bidding. ROPAAL will never work until the day NDC commits itself to it. That day, the non-existent and illusory impediments will vanish from their lexicon.



In the same way, when Akufo Ado, the NPP Presidential candidate formulated the Free SHS principles in the run-up to the 2012 Presidential elections NDC led by inept John Mahama completely bastardized it. Even it would have been difficult for Akufo Ado to have implemented it if he had won in 2012 in that hostile atmosphere. Now NDC won and shamefully and arrogantly Mahama has bought the Free SHS concept. Now the idea can work. Even if Mahama cant do it any future NPP administration will have the peace of mind to prosecute it.This is in line with the concept that all the good and progressive ideas have to wait for NDC otherwise they will suffer implementation paralysis.



The use of the rebuilt Flagstaff House as Presidential Office would never have been realised smoothly without the consent of the vindictive NDC.



Accra-Kumasi road will never be fixed unless NDC stop parochial and ethnocentric sentiments and accept and prioritize the development of that Ghana’s most economically important road. Mahama should realise that in all economic senses, the neglect of that road in the last 6 years is unpardonable and criminal.



No EC reform can work unless NDC accept them. I hold that the simple biometric verification was messed up in 2012 Presidential elections by the EC, the damnable tool which did the NDC depraved bidding.



Indisputably; Woyome, CP, SADA, GYEEDA, SUBA, etc rots will never be solved because NDC are not interested. Their top-dogs including the Attorney General Mrs Marietta Brew Oppong and the Mills/Mahama cabinets are all neckdeep in the gargantuan stinking decay.



My contention is that; NDC are in full control. NDC times are the best in Ghana. NDC are dictating the pace of everything. NPP have to act and follow as ‘fools’ to let things work peacefully in Ghana. It would have been hell if the shoes were on the other feet.



John Yawose