General News of Monday, 29 June 2020

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

K.T. Hammond was honest in his disclosure on military presence in Ketu South – NDC

Fiifi Kwetey, Member of Parliament for Ketu South in the Volta Region Fiifi Kwetey, Member of Parliament for Ketu South in the Volta Region

Member of Parliament for Ketu South in the Volta Region, Fiifi Kwetey, has said that Member of Parliament for Adansi-Asokwa, K. T. Hammond, spoke the truth about the reason some military and security agencies were deployed to the constituency.

According to him, comments by K. T. Hammond affirms the ruling NPP’s position on the matter as he was quoted to have said “military is there to make sure that you vote if you are a Ghanaian, you vote if you have the constitutional right to vote; that’s all there is to it.”

But Fifi Kwetey, like other members of the Minority, said the presence of military men is intimidating residents in Ketu South stressing that the fear and panic felt in the area will affect the registration exercise as residents may not show up for the registration.

Speaking at a press conference, the lawmaker said, “NPP MP KT Hammond showed some honesty when he recently disclosed what is obviously the real reason behind the deployment of the military along out boarders we need no rocket scientist that the grand agenda of the NPP is to intimidate our steaming supporters and make it difficult for them to come out in their numbers to register when the registration exercise begins tomorrow.”

There have been some tension in the Volta Region over the deployment of some military men in the region ahead of the compilation of the new voters registration card.

Residents in the Ketu South have raised concerns about the spontaneous presence of military men in the enclave, some few months to the December polls as they allege they are been brutalized as they live in fear and panic.

However, Interior Minister Ambrose Dery dismissed these claims insisting that the military was deployed to ensure movement are restricted and to enforce closure of the border.

"Our experience over time is that the Eastern border continues to give us a course for worry because people are still coming in. We have discovered over 250 unapproved routes. The police and military being there is to protect our borders. If you look at our neighbours they do not have the testing records we have. Togo, Burkina Faso, La Cote d'Ivoire do not have the testing records. We are doing all we can to prevent COVID-19.” He explained.

But the NDC insists it’s an attempt to prevent residents from partaking in the compilation of the new voters register.