ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
The time left for the 2020 general elections is woefully inadequate for the EC to procure a new system, train its staff, compile a new voters’ register, generate a provisional register, conduct an exhibition exercise, do de-duplication, and so on and so forth.
You would recall, that in the run up to the 2012 General Elections when the current biometric register was introduced, the Afari Gyan-led EC ensured that all procurement processes were concluded and necessary agreements signed before the end of 2011.
By the end of February 2012, a pilot registration exercise had been completed and a number of defects identified for further correction by the vendor.
We are in March 2020 and we are yet be informed by the Jean Mensa/Bossman Asare-led EC about the final award of the contract for procurement.
This time constraint coupled with the ineptitude of the Jean Mensa/Bossman Asare-led EC such as was displayed during last year’s referendum and limited voters registration exercise, should give every well-meaning Ghanaian cause for concern because if care is not taken the entire Electoral process will be thrown into confusion and utter chaos.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, these sound and well-reasoned arguments have been corroborated by over forty (40) independent Civil Society organizations including IMANI-AFRICA, CDD-GH, GII, IDEG, OccupyGhana, ASEPA, just to mention a few.
Yet, the Jean Mensa-led EC remains adamant and continues to put forward baseless justifications for their entrenched stance to compile a new voters register for the 2020 general elections.
The baseless and mostly deceptive justifications that the EC has consistently canvassed include the following: 1.
That, the current BVRs and BVDs are obsolete and “have reached levels where they can no longer be repaired”, hence must be discarded.
That, It is cheaper to procure an entirely new BVMS and compile a new voters register, than to update, maintain and/or upgrade the current system.
And that, procuring a new BVMS will save the nation some $18 million.
That, integration of an additional authentication layer of facial recognition is impossible on the current BVMS system due to its architecture.
That, the current Biometric Voter Management System has a vendor-lock-in and that, the EC does not have the source code of the current system.
Ladies and Gentlemen, We have known all along that the EC’s claims are false and today, we will share with you and all the good people of Ghana, authentic and incontrovertible information from the manufacturer of the current BVRs and the company which supplied the current BVDs to EC.
Simply put, we have in our possession evidence which vindicates our long-held position that the current BVMS system is fit for purpose and can be upgraded at a cost which is cheaper than replacing it with an entirely new system.
LATEST INFORMATION FROM THE MANUFACTURERS OF THE CURRENT BVR EQUIPMENT Ladies and gentlemen of the press, On the 1st of January 2020, we sent an email to HSB Identification BV of Holland, the manufacturers of the current BVR equipment, seeking answers on whether or not the BVR equipment they supplied Ghana are obsolete; and whether or not the current BVRs can be upgraded to include facial recognition.
In a response to this email dated 2nd January 2020, Mr.
Marcel Boogaard of HSB Identification B.V.
indicated as follows; 1.
The current BVRs are not obsolete.
Although the notebooks (computer operating system and software) of the current BVRs needs to be upgraded, components like the fingerprint scanners were very robust and fit for use.
The enrollment software could easily be upgraded with facial recognition, a feature which has been incorporated in their new software release.
The cost of upgrading the current BVR equipment with new functionalities will be far cheaper than replacing them with new equipment.
HSB Identifications BV is willing to assist the EC carry out these upgrades upon request.
LATEST REVELATIONS FROM THE MANUFACTURERS OF THE CURRENT BVD EQUIPMENT Also, on 26th February 2020, we sent another email to GenKey Africa, suppliers of the current BVDs to find out whether or not the 72,000 BVD equipment they supplied to Ghana's Electoral Commission are obsolete; and whether or not they can be upgraded; and at what cost if Yes.
In a response to our Enquiry, the Managing Director/Projects Director of GenKey Africa, Mr.
Harold Hermans indicated as follows; 1.
Contrary to the claims by the EC, the 72,000 BVDs they supplied Ghana are not obsolete.
The BVDs the EC used for the 2019 District Level Elections worked perfectly.
The BVDs are upgradeable and that, they have presented a proposal to the EC for the upgrade of same at a cost far cheaper than the cost of replacing the current equipment with new ones.
Friends from the media, Suffice it to say that the Jean Mensa-led EC has been telling well-packaged lies to Ghanaians; lies deliberately calculated to court public support for the compilation of a new voters register.
These falsehoods, coupled with the raging controversy over corrupt tender processes for the supply of new BDV equipment and the announcement of a winner with a questionable record, clearly show that something fishy is going on at the EC.
It is either Jean Mensa and her sponsors have a financial interest in the procurement of entirely new equipment or that the compilation of a new register is part of a rigging agenda for the benefit of NPP or both.
Ladies and gentlemen, We have shared with you authentic information we have received from the vendors of the existing machines.
The contents are very revealing.
Clearly, the EC has been caught red handed and we now await their reaction.
Meanwhile, we remind Madam Jean Mensa that we are still waiting for the report of the so-called IT consultant which formed the basis of their decision to compile a new voters’ register.
We dare her to publish that Consultant’s report if it indeed exists.
At this stage we wish to remind Jean Mensa and the Electoral Commission of the ingredients of the law on Willfully Causing Financial Loss to the State as brilliantly espoused by Late Justice Afreh of blessed memory in the famous quality grain case.
Financial loss must have occurred.
This means that the state spent more money than necessary on the project, whether or not the benefit of the project were more than sufficient to cover the cost.
The presence of an act or omission.
This means the failure to follow lawful processes or do due deligence on a multimillion dollar project.
There must be a direct link between the financial loss to the state and the act or omission of the public officer.
In this case, it is sufficient to prove that the loss has been contributed to by the act or omission of the public officer and not necessarily the exclusive cause of the loss.
That the public officer foresaw the consequences of her action and desired the consequences or took an unreasonable risk of its occurrence.
My advice to Aunty Jean is that, today you may feel confident with the support of the powers that be to embark on this action, but remember that those same powers will not be available to protect you on the day of reckoning, which is clearly fast approaching.
CONCLUSION Ladies and gentlemen, it is crystal clear from the facts we shared with you this afternoon, that Ghana does not need a new voters register for the 2020 General Elections.
The current biometric voters’ register is credible and bears all the essential features of an accurate and credible voters register.
None of the concerns raised by the EC impugn or undermine the credibility of the voters register (data) in any way.
The manufacturers have spoken.
The current tried and tested BVDs and BVRs are robust and efficient.
We commend the manufacturers for the speedy response to our enquiry.
Indeed our long held position has been strengthened by their ardent corroboration of the technical views expressed by our technical team and other CSOs in the country.
Distinguished friends from the media, the current BVMS has delivered five (5) credible national elections since 2012 and produced both an NDC and NPP President.
All the technical concerns being expressed by the EC, even if true, can be addressed through a simple upgrade of the current equipment and software.
We wish to make the point clear to the Jean Mensa-led EC and their collaborators in the NPP, that this is not the usual binary "them" against "us" fight.
This is about our nation Ghana, and the naked rip-off of our limited resources to satisfy the greed of a selected few in the Electoral Commission.
It is also about the attempt by the Jean Mensa-led EC to set the stage for manipulating the 2020 General Elections for the benefit of the incumbent government.
The Inter-Party Resistance Against the New Voters Register is therefore determined, to do everything possible within the remits of the law to resist the devious machinations and reckless attempt by the EC to waste the public purse on a needless compilation of a new voters register, which has the potential to jeopardize our fledgling democracy and the peace and stability we are enjoying as a country.
We will in the coming days, escalate our resistance to drum home further the voice of the people on this matter.
It is a wasteful expenditure.
No one can even guarantee success in compiling a new register especially when the economists are predicting a two to three months slow down in the global supply chain for equipment on account of the impact of the spread of coronavirus on the manufacturing sector.
Besides, the hassles Ghanaians are going through to secure GhanaCard is enough.
Ghanaians deserve a break from the tiring and time consuming queues all within a short space of time.
And let us also remind ourselves of the National Population Census due to begin soon.
We know without a shudder of doubt that we shall overcome the oppressor in this struggle.
The peoples victory is assured, not only because we are ‘many’ and they are ‘few’, but particularly because power belongs to the people.
Long Live the Resistance!!
Long live Ghana!!!
Aluta Continua, Victoria Ascerta!!
Good afternoon distinguished friends from the media.
On behalf of the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), I would like to thank you for honoring our invitation at such short notice.
You are warmly welcome to our headquarters for this all-important press conference.
In recent weeks, we have keenly followed ongoing proceedings of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament, on the report of the Auditor-General on Public Boards, Corporations and other Statutory Bodies for the period ended December 31, 2022.
The ongoing PAC hearings have brought to the fore, some very disturbing issues that border on corruption and abuse of public funds by certain state institutions.
Of particular interest to us, is the latest revelation about the colossal expenditure made by the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) on the botched “Agyapa” Royalties deal.
Ladies and gentlemen, during the Committee’s consideration of the report of the Auditor-General on the accounts of the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) for the period ended December 31, 2022, the Chief Executive Officer of MIIF, Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng disclosed that a humongous amount of $12 million was spent on the botched “Agyapa” Royalties deal.
When the matter was probed further, the CEO of MIIF stated that this colossal amount was spent on the setting up of the stinky “Agyapa” Royalties vehicle, the payment of consultancy fees, the rental of office space and the processes leading to the Initial Public Offering towards the listing of “Agyapa” Royalties on the London Stock Exchange.
The Ghanaian public was taken aback by these disclosures, which add to the never-ending list of corruption scandals that continue to plague the nation under the watch of President Akufo-Addo and his corrupt protégé, Alhaji Bawumia.
For us in the National Democratic Congress, this disclosure did not come as a surprise.
We are on record to have stated that the “Agyapa” Royalties deal was yet another phoney scheme cooked by the corrupt and nepotistic Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government, for the sole purpose of appropriating the mineral royalties of the country for themselves in perpetuity.
Ghanaians would recall, that during the intense public debate on the infamous “Agyapa” deal, the NDC took a principled position to stand with the people of Ghana.
We kicked against the whole “Agyapa”arrangement on grounds that, the country’s mineral royalties had been grossly undervalued under the opaque deal and that same was going to deny future governments and generations mineral revenues that are critical to the development of the country.
Consequently, the NDC Minority Caucus in Parliament staged a walkout when the “Agyapa” deal was presented to Parliament for approval.
Sadly but unsurprisingly, the corrupt ruling New Patriotic Party used their numbers to approve the sleazy deal, despite the huge public outcry over the lack of value for money that the deal presented.
The Flag-bearer of the NDC, and God willing the next President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, vowed to cancel the fraudulent Agyapa Royalties deal if he won the 2020 General Elections, a position that has not changed.
Several Civil Society Organisations, including IMANI, ISODEC, the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), IDEG, ASEPA, ACEP, among others, kicked against this rip-off called Agyapa, based on sound arguments and alternative proposals.
As you are all aware, all the constructive suggestions of these groups were ignored by the corrupt Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government who were hellbent on stealing our mineral royalties.
Subsequently, the Office of Special Prosecutor established in its Corruption Risk Assessment Report that, the “Agyapa” deal was fraught with procurement rigging, statutory breaches, potential money laundering and inimical to the interest of the nation.
Eventually, the chilling details of the OSP’s report coupled with sustained pressure from the NDC and civil society compelled the President to shamefully beat a retreat and refer the deal he had already granted Executive approval for, back to Parliament for reconsideration, pending the 2020 General Election.
My brothers and sisters, throughout our struggle against the “Agyapa” heist, we never knew and never imagined, that the ruling NPP government had spent a whopping $12 million on the deal.
With each passing day, and as the clock ticks to December 7, 2024 for Ghanaians to kick this irredeemably corrupt government out of office, the countless skeletons in their closet of corruption keep unfolding before our very eyes.
We in the NDC are completely appalled by the decision of the corrupt Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government, to spend this colossal amount of money on the “Agyapa” scam, which never saw the light of day.
It is unconscionable and, the height of cruelty, that the government engaged in this naked thievery and brazen abuse of the public purse, at a time our beloved nation was battling the COVID-19 pandemic and Ghanaians were already reeling under excruciating hardships.
This is very sad and disheartening.
Friends from the media, the OSP established beyond every reasonable doubt, that the “Agyapa” deal violated the Public Procurement Act, the Public Financial Management Act and the 1992 Constitution, thus, rendering the entire transaction null, void and of no effect.
The most startling revelation by the OSP in its Corruption Risk Assessment report on the “Agyapa” scam, was the fact that some illegal payments were made to certain entities.
These entities include Databank, a company which was founded and is still owned by Ken Ofori-Atta, a cousin of President Akufo-Addo, the immediate-past Finance Minister, who has been promoted to the position of Senior Presidential Advisor on the economy and Special Envoy on international investments and the Capital Markets.
The OSP also found that similar illegal payments were made to Africa Legal Associates, a law firm belonging to Gabby Otchere Darko, another cousin of President Akufo-Addo.
All these payments were found by the OSP to be unlawful, hence null and void.
Yet, to date, these illegal payments, which did not give the country any value or benefit, have not been retrieved by the state.
My brothers and sisters, we all know what good this colossal amount of USD$12 million, which is equivalent to GH¢153 million (i.e.
1.5 trillion old Ghana cedis) could have achieved in Ghana’s bankrupt economy if it had been put to judicious use.
This money could have sufficed to pay the cost of several months of treatment for all kidney patients in Ghana, nineteen (19) of whom died painfully, following the shameful closure of the Renal Dialysis Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for several months last year, over government’s GHS4 million indebtedness.
This colossal amount of money could have been used to provide childhood vaccines to protect innocent babies from dying of childhood killer diseases due to a shortage of essential vaccines.
This USD$12 million which the country has lost to sheer corruption, could have procured textbooks for basic school children who have gone five years without curricular-based textbooks, after the introduction of a new curriculum.
Ladies and gentlemen, USD$12 million could have paid the allowances of National Service Personnel in Ghana who have not been paid for four months now.
Also, this huge amount of money could have been used to create thousands of jobs for NABCO beneficiaries who have been sent home after they were promised permanent employment.
Again, this colossal amount of money, could have been used to provide potable drinking water, or several CHIP compounds or schools for thousands of Ghanaians in deprived communities of the country.
Sadly but very characteristic of the selfish and greedy Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, they have distributed all this money among themselves, under the guise of expenditure on the botched “Agyapa” deal.
We are totally disgusted by this wanton dissipation of public funds on a needless and useless venture by a government that rode on the back of an anti-corruption campaign into power, with the promise to protect the public purse.
My brothers and sisters, where did we go wrong?
What crime have we committed to deserve this kind of treatment from our leaders?
Why are we being subjected to a constant abuse of our meagre state resources by the ruling NPP government, at a time when many cannot even afford one square meal a day and at a time, when our nation is faced with economic bankruptcy, marked by debt default, an all-time high unemployment rate, high-interest rates, high inflation rate and unprecedented hardships?
What crime have we committed to deserve this treatment?
The penchant of this corrupt NPP government to hide behind crafty schemes such as the “Agyapa” deal, to steal from the people of Ghana is just too much.
If it is not about mortgaging future mineral royalties into a phoney offshore entity called Agyapa, then it is about the dubious payment of $2 million dollars to a sham entity called Ai Skytrain Ltd, for so-called sky trains which have never materialised.
From the PDS thievery to the unconscionable Ameri Novation agreement, all the way to the stinky SML scandal, this government has been relentless in their greedy pursuit to fleece the state coffers.
Ghanaians have had enough of this Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP administration, which has earned the dubious distinction as the most corrupt government under the Fourth Republic.
Today, Ghanaians are suffering because the meager resources of the country which are supposed to be put to judicious use for the benefit of all Ghanaians, have been hijacked by the greedy, selfish and corrupt Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government and their accomplices in the ruling New Patriotic Party.
This is why today, students are suffering; teachers are suffering; nurses are suffering; doctors are suffering; market women are suffering; drivers are suffering; mates are suffering; Okada riders are suffering; engineers are suffering; pastors are suffering; journalists are suffering; Spare parts dealers are suffering; women are suffering; men are suffering; “boys boys” are suffering; “girls girls” are suffering; children are suffering; and all of us are suffering.
We are suffering because of the unprecedented corruption we are witnessing under Akufo-Addo and his corrupt protégé Bawumia.
Fellow countrymen and women, the “Agyapa” scam clearly amounts to wilfully causing financial loss to the state, and the culprits of same must not go unpunished.
We in the NDC, and all well-meaning Ghanaians, repose huge trust and confidence in John Mahama, to pursue and retrieve the state, public funds that have been lost to looting schemes such as this “Agyapa” scandal, the PDS scandal, the “BOSTGATE” scandal and other acts of naked thievery by officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government and their party apparatchiks.
John Dramani Mahama has demonstrated both in government and out of government, that he detests corruption, and will never condone corruption, nor shield perpetrators of corrupt acts.
He has stated clearly, that the days of the corruption clearing agent, will come to an end on January 7, 2025, when by the grace of God, he assumes office as President.
He has said and demonstrated before, that the sword of the fight against corruption will cut both ways under his government, whether you are a member of his government or not.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about our main opponent in the upcoming 2024 general elections.
I am talking about Alhaji Bawumia, the failed Vice President and Chair of the Economic Management Team, the clueless drivers’ mate and discredited Flag-bearer of the New Patriotic Party, who has proven to be not only dishonest but also very corrupt.
This is the man who orchestrated the stinky PDS scandal by deliberately and illegally relaxing the condition precedent requirement of a Bank Guarantee, thereby aiding PDS to defraud Ghanaians to the tune of GH¢1.5 billion in electricity tariffs alone.
According to the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Ghana lost a whopping $2 billion dollars as a result of this scam.
Again, this is the man who was named in the Anas Number 12 investigations and fingered in the Galamsey Economy documentary by Kwesi Nyantakyi and Charles Adu Boahen respectively, as a collector, arranger, fixer and receiver of “appearance fees” (bribes).
This is the man who attempted to steal ten containers of rice belonging to a Ghanaian businessman for Ramadan donations, through his Director of Administration.
As we speak, the said Director of Administration is currently being prosecuted by the OSP.
Yet, he still works at the office of the Vice President to date.
This is the man who continues to lie through his teeth to Ghanaians without any restraint nor shame.
I can go on and on.
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, the fact is, “appearance fee” merchant Bawumia is corrupt and cannot be trusted to fight corruption.
The only way Ghanaians can get to the bottom of the litany of corrupt acts and scandals involving officials of this government including Bawumia himself, is for the good people of Ghana to resoundingly boot the NPP out of office on December 7, 2024.
In so doing, our surest bet of exacting genuine accountability, will be to vote overwhelmingly for H.E John Dramani Mahama and the NDC, to enable us to pursue true accountability which has been missing in our national affairs in the last seven years.
My brothers and Sisters, I have the full blessing of John Dramani Mahama to inform you and by extension the good people of Ghana, that the next NDC government will investigate the stinky $12 million “Agyapa” scam, retrieve all illegal payments made under same, and ensure that all the perpetrators are prosecuted.
The day of accountability is fast approaching, and no one found culpable will be left off the hook by the next NDC/Mahama government.
This is a solemn pledge and our charge to keep when by the grace of God and the Ghanaian people, the NDC assumes the reins of government in 2025.