The Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) has debunked reports that it spent US$150 million to acquire new Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) and Biometric Voters Registration Kits (BVRs) in 2020.

The commission in a statement signed by Fred Tetteh, the Deputy Director of Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the EC, said that it spent US$68,661,912.67 as total cost for 74,500 BVDs, 8,500 BVRs, a new data centre and data recovery centre.

The EC said with the procurement of 74,500 new BVDs and 8,500 new BVRs, the current administration of the commission saved an amount of US$57,918,270 compared to the prices at which the previous administration was going to pay for new BVDs and BVRs.

“Please take note that the cost of refurbishing one BVR kit as approved in 2018 was $3,565 while the cost of a new BVR Kit purchased by the current administration in 2020 was $3,423.38. As Ghanaians, would we have preferred to refurbish old BYRs at a unit cost higher than a new one?” the commission asked.

The EC said that the previous administration earmarked US$15 million for the data centre and biometric system upgrade.

It said the current administration spent US$6,161,869.69 for a new data centre, a new data recovery centre and related services, saving the country US$9 million.

The commission urged the public to ignore reports claiming that it spent $150 million to acquire BVDs and BVRs in 2020.