UE PNC Condemns 'All Die Be Die' Statement(D/G February 15, 2011)

The Upper East regional branch of the People's National Convention (PNC) has joined the fray of condemnations of the “All die be die" statement by the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Flag bearer, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo, and urged Ghanaians not to countenance such negative comments.Reacting to the comments in an interview in Bolgatanga, the Regional Secretary of the PNC, Mr Henry Fatchu, said it was unacceptable for any political party, group of persons or an individual to further divide the nation which already had been polarised on political party lines.According to him, such acts and inaction, through the use of what he termed “abusive language, have the tendency of degenerating into ethnic upheavals.”He, however,conceded that it was an undeniable fact that there was a “cold war” between members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) which had transcended from the leadership to the grassroots and social commentators across the country.“This has an effect on human lives and needs to be addressed with all the seriousness that it deserves. It is practically, morally and politically wrong for the NDC to use available resources to run after nothing and make others heroes instead of directing its energies into improving the material conditions of Ghanaians to ensure that no one is left hungry, illiterate, homeless, destitute and unemployed,” he said.Mr Fatchu said the general society should also be responsible for this predicament because they created the enabling environment for the political leaders to feed on with electrifying words.He bemoaned the fact that a section of the media, instead of setting a positive agenda to criticise the programmes of government and failure to eliminate the most acute social inequality in terms of economic, cultural and educational, turned to report negative and undesirable remarks.He recalled an occasion, a few months ago, when the president met with religious leaders and the issue of undesirable comments by politicians took centre stage.Mr Fatchu, therefore, called on the religious leaders to, as a matter of urgency, call the leadership of NDC and NPP to order and ask them to come up with social programmes which would eliminate poverty, unemployment and homelessness instead of turning a blind eye to the growing unemployment in the country.

NCCE Condemns High Filing Fees By Parties(D/G, Monday February 7, 2011. page 13)

The National Commission for Civic Education, (NCCE) has described as unfortunate the decision by some political parties to charge high filing fees for parliamentary aspirants.According to the Chairman of the commission, Mr Larry Bimi, such exorbitant charges would only go to debar competent but resource constrained persons from seeking to represent their constituents in the legislature.Mr Bimi said this at an end of year party for staff of the Commission in Bolgatanga, the Upper East Regional Capital.The New Patriotic Party (NPP) recently announced that all aspirants from constituencies where there are sitting NPP MPs would pay a total sum of GH¢ 16,000, while those in orphaned constituencies would pay GH ¢ 6,000. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has announced a figure of GH¢ 2,000 as filing fees. Both parties however, offered a 50 per cent rebate for women aspirants to encourage them.But Mr Bimi believed that such high demands could overwhelm poor persons who were desirous of contesting elections and prevent them from participating in the democratic process even though they have what it takes to represent their constituents.He, therefore, called on the political parties in the country to put their acts together to provide an equal platform for all to take part in the democratic process of the country.He said Ghana had enjoyed relatively stable democracy mainly due to the efforts of the NCCE and the Electoral Commission albeit in the face of inadequate resources.He advised staff not to be daunted but continue to make do with the available resources to impact positively on the society and promised them that every effort would be made to fight for more resources to help them deliver on their mandate.The Upper East Regional Director of the NCCE, Mr Peter Mensah, said in pursuit of the mandate of the commission in the region, a number of activities including school based programmes designed to complement the school curricular as well as nurturing the leadership potential of the youth had been undertaken.Others are face–to-face interaction with communities, organised bodies and representative audiences, as a well as radio discussions on relevant subjects.On the Bawku crisis, he said the commission under the auspices and with financial support from the Bawku Municipal Assembly played a substantial role in efforts towards the resolution of the conflict, adding that the NCCE was able to mobilise some opinion leaders in the Bawku Municipality including leaders of the feuding ethnic groups and arranged a press conference where they declared to the whole region their commitment to peace and unity.“Though that event certainly did not end the conflict, it contributed to the beginning of the easing of the tension at Bawku” he contended.The Paramount Chief of Bongo who is a staff of the commission, Naba Salifu Alemyarum, chaired the function. He advised staff of the commission, not to be daunted by the many challenges they face but rather work hard to effectively enhance the image of the NCCE in the region.Awards were later presented to staff of the commission who dedicated themselves in the past year.