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EC to top Ghana budget up with 70
billion cedis
Accra, Nov. 30, GNA – Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, Deputy
Majority Leader, on Friday said the Electoral Commission
(EC) needed an additional 70 billion cedis to top up its
2008 budget to carry out its activities for the general
elections.
He said the 2008 budget could
not spell out the details of all activities of the EC, but
everything was to be done to ensure that all concerns were
addressed to ensure a successful election.
The Deputy Majority Leader was responding to some concerns
raised by Edward Salia, (NDC-Jirapa).
Mr Salia had appealed to the EC not to limit the revision of
the voters' register to only the electoral areas but extend
the exercise to the polling station level to enable many
eligible voters to register.
He said if the exercise was conducted at only the electoral
area it may disenfranchise many people who may not be up to
the task of making any extra journey to the electoral areas
when they could easily register at the polling stations
close by.
Mr Salia was contributing to the 2008 debate and made
particular reference to the portion in the budget, which
said the existing voters register would be reviewed to
include those who have not attained the age of 18 years but
the exercise was to be conducted at the electoral area
level.
Earlier, Mr Salia touched on the northern development fund
to be set up to support the development of the three
northern regions and said it was important that a legal
backing be given to the establishment of the fund to ensure
sustainability because of the changes in government and to
make sure that inputs into the funds was compulsory and not
discretionary.
He said this would institutionalize the fund and ensure
proper management of the funds just like the GETFUND.
Mr Abuga Pele, (NDC-Chiana-Paga) in his contributions, said
government's claims that it had created over 200,000 jobs to
solve unemployment was far from the truth because most of
the jobs created under
the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), were really
not permanent but casual or temporary jobs.
He said the youth in the NYEP had no job security in the
form of pensions, social security and other employment
conditions.Dr. Francis Osafo-Mensah, (NPP-Mpraeso) who
touched on the health sector, said government's aim at
promoting preventive health in the budget through educating
Ghanaians on healthy eating habits and lifestyles and the
screening on common cancers in general public was a step in
the right direction.
GNA
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