EC Must Ensure Credible Voters Register – Dasebre

Dasebre Oti Boateng, Omanehene of the New Juabeng Area, has thrown his weight behind the call by well-meaning Ghanaians, for the Dr. Kwadwo Afari Djan led Electoral Commission (EC), to provide the country with a credible voters register for this year’s general election.

The renown statistician and professor emeritus, made the call at his Koforidua Palace, when NDC Leader and Presidential Candidate, John Evans Atta Mills, paid a courtesy call on him on Tuesday, March 04, 2008, as part of his tour of the Eastern Region.

The respected Dasebre Oti Boateng, noted that Ghana was at a very critical point in her democratic dispensation, hence, the need for the EC not to give cause for unnecessary anxiety by leaving doubts in the minds of Ghanaians about the credibility of the voters register.

“We want a very credible register so that after the election, the losers will not have cause to doubt the results” Dasebre said.

“Ghana needs to remain united after the election this year and so all stakeholders in the electoral process must allow for the election to be free and fair so that we can be proud of our democracy. And we all know what it means not have a credible register” Dasebre added.

The respected traditional ruler said that a lot of innocent blood had been shed in other parts of Africa and the world because of disputed elections and so Ghana need not go down that path.

Dasebre Oti Boateng, one-time the number statistician of the state, added that, at this point in her growth, Ghana needed a leader who will have the development of the nation, and not his personal development, as his/her priority.

“We need a selfless leader who will lead us along the right path of nation building and development” Dasebre said.

Touching on the oil that has been discovered, Dasebre Oti Boateng said that after allowing our gold and cocoa monies to benefit foreign interests and not the people of Ghana, we need a government that will not partner foreign interests to milk the nation’s oil wealth.

“We need a government with good negotiation skills so that we can negotiate well and use our oil revenue to develop this dear country of ours” he said. “We must stop allowing other people to benefit from our wealth whiles we wallow in poverty and deprivation” he added.

“As a statisticians, some of us will be keeping a tab on every single pesewa that will be generated from the oil find and if some government thinks it will be able to get away with pocketing our wealth, then that government is joking” a very serious looking Dasebre added.

The Omanhene, recalled his Legon days with Professor Mills as well as their London School of Economics days, and paid glowing tribute to the learned law professor.

Dasebre Oti Boateng asked of Professor Mills and the NDC to avoid attacks on personalities, and deal with the issues.

“Ghanaians have matured politically and if any politician refuses to focus on the issues and engages in insults and name-calling, that politician should know that he/she is wasting his/her time asking for the mandate of the people” was how the Omanhene put it.

It is quite clear that the call of Professor Mills and the NDC that the EC should take a critical look at the voters register and correct any anomalies before the d-day, has not fallen on deaf ears as no less a person than Dasebre Oti Boateng has also added his voice to that call.