Politics of Thursday, 18 March 2004

Source: GNA

Registration exercise picks up in Accra

Accra, March 18, GNA - Figures gathered from a number of registration centres in the Accra Metropolis by the Ghana News Agency indicate that the exercise is picking up fast.
While the first day saw an average of 50 people registering the second day recorded an average of 120 people.
A GNA observer team led by the Acting General Manager, Nana Appau Duah visited registration centres at Korley Klottey; Ledzokuku, Dede Kotopon and Ayawaso East constituencies and discovered that more than 100,000 voters had registered in the three days.
Some of the Registration Officers complained about poor supervision and monitoring by the Coordinators.
Mr Derrick Nii Dodoo, Registration Officer at the Osu Children's Home Centre expressed concern about the lack of motivation and poor supervision and urged the appropriate authorities to sit up.
Ms Lucy Dzadey, a Registration Assistant at the Kotobabi (K3) Centre, who had taken over as the Registration Officer due to the failure of the original officer to report, urged the communities to bear with the officers and stop harassing them.
She said "some potential voters try to intimidate us when you insist on getting the required information. They abuse and pass all sorts of comments that discourage us".
Ms Dzadey appealed to all stakeholders to cooperate with the registration officers.
At the Labone Secondary School Centre the Assistant was not helping the Boss and this created some problem. He was playing when he was expected to assist.
Some of the Registration Officers asked EC to arrange to send them food and water so that they could stay at post and work continuously. "When I left for lunch many people came and had to leave promising to come back later," one of the Registration Officers said.