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Centre for National Culture intensifies COVID-19 awareness at market centres
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Mrs. Alima Kala, Greater Accra Regional Director of the Centre for National Culture (CNC) has expressed worry over public disregard for COVID-19 protocols in the country.
She has, therefore, asked all citizens to observe the safety protocols as the “Delta Variant” of the virus continued to take more lives.
Mrs Kala stressed this point while addressing participants at the COVID-19 nationwide awareness campaign held at some market centres in Accra recently.
The campaign themed: “Mask Up, COVID-19 down”, used cultural performances by some students from selected Greater Accra Senior High Schools to drum home the message about the COVID-19 spread.
Students of Holy Trinity, Kinbu and Osu Presbyterian Senior High Schools participated in the event held at the Tema Station, Madina, Ashaiman and Dodowa markets.
The performances were done in different local dialects to help the public further understand the key preventive measures to help curb the spread of the disease.
Mrs. Kala said market places were potential hotspots for the spread of the virus hence the effort to extend the awareness to these business centres.
While urging traders to comply with the COVID-19 safety protocols, she said the CNC would continue to adopt strategies to intensify awareness about the deadly disease.
Madam Edna Nyame, Executive Director of National Commission on Culture also indicated that the low compliance with safety protocol was counterproductive and urged stakeholders and law enforcers not to relent on their effort in combating the disease.
“We must adhere strictly to the safety protocols because the pandemic is real and now more contagious with the new variant,” she said.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
The Director of Legal Affairs of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gary Nimako Marfo, has questioned who will bear the cost of conducting presidential and parliamentary primaries following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the party’s delegate system.
Speaking to journalists, Mr. Nimako Marfo said he would not immediately comment on the ruling, adding that he wanted to wait for the full details before sharing his views.
“I don’t want to comment on it now. Let’s wait,” he said.
When asked about the Supreme Court’s decision that all members in good standing should vote in party elections, he shifted attention to the financial implications of implementing the ruling.
According to him, allowing all members in good standing to vote would increase the cost of organising internal party elections.
He questioned who would pay for the expanded electoral process.
“Who is going to pay for the cost of the elections?” he asked.
When a journalist suggested that political parties would bear the cost, Mr. Nimako Marfo replied, “Let’s wait and see.”
The comments come after the Supreme Court ruled that political parties should allow all members in good standing to vote in their internal elections, a decision that is expected to expand participation but also increase the financial and logistical demands of organising presidential and parliamentary primaries.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The Supreme Court of Ghana has declared the delegate system used by political parties to elect presidential and parliamentary candidates unconstitutional.
In a 5-2 majority decision delivered, the Court ruled that the long-standing system violates democratic principles and ordered all political parties to ensure every registered, card-bearing member participates in presidential and parliamentary primaries.
The ruling brings to an end decades of internal party elections conducted by a limited number of delegates.
The suit was filed by former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng; veteran politician Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe; and former Minister for Lands and Forestry, Dr. Christine Amoako-Nuamah.
The plaintiffs argued that the delegate system created inequality among party members by granting voting rights to a privileged minority while excluding ordinary members in good standing.
They told the Court that restricting voting rights to delegates was inconsistent with the democratic principles enshrined in the 1992 Constitution.
The Attorney-General’s Department supported the suit and urged the Court to adopt a “one member, one vote” approach.
In its submission, the State argued that political parties perform an important public function in Ghana’s democratic framework and that their internal electoral processes must reflect constitutional values of equality, participation and universal suffrage.
The Attorney-General further submitted that expanding voting rights to all registered members would strengthen accountability and deepen internal democracy within political parties.
The judgment means that going forward, presidential and parliamentary candidates will be selected by all registered members of a political party, instead of by delegates alone.
Political parties are expected to review their constitutions and structures to comply with the Court’s directive ahead of the 2028 general elections.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
