Editorial
Boycott of the IPAC meeting on election 2020 by the NDC
Presidential and parliamentary elections in the country have seen improvements from time to time because of useful inputs made by stakeholders during meetings organised by the Electoral Commission for the political parties and other stakeholders.
From opaque boxes as well as black and white photographs, the country is now able to organise elections using colour photographs of voters and transparent boxes.
As we move on with more elections, further improvements will come based on useful inputs made by political parties and other stakeholders.
When this happens, it is the country as a whole that will benefit from good election results. It is in the light of this that The Spectator and some Ghanaians find it strange and unacceptable the position of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to have boycotted the Inter-party Advisory Committee (IPAC) meeting recently organised by the Electoral Commission.
The meeting would have enabled the party to come out with loopholes encountered during the last elections and as well come with suggestions regarding how best to improve the situation.
The NDC made it clear that it would not have anything to do with the Electoral Commission on the matter. If this is the position adopted by the party, then it is very unfortunate and the NDC should begin to dissolve itself immediately without having anything to do with the Electoral Commission.
Elections cannot be conducted in the country without the statutory body charged with responsibility of organising them. The Electoral Commission is the election management body which cannot be avoided by any of the political parties.
This is where the NDC’s position is wrong and unacceptable.
This paper, therefore, urges the leadership of the party to rescind their decision and agree to hold meetings with the Electoral Commission together with other political parties on the way forward.
The claims made by the NDC that they won the last election could not be proved at the Supreme Court. Their star witness, Mr Asiedu Nketia, upon interrogation by the court made it clear that it was the current president, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, who won the election with over 51 per cent.
It is, therefore, strange and difficult to understand that the NDC would now turn round and say that it would not attend any of the meetings organised by the Electoral Commission.
Peace must be made to prevail, so the NDC must change its position on this matter.
The loss of any particular election should not be seen as the end of life. What the NDC needs to do is to reorganise itself and come out with programmes that are likely to win them the mandate in the next election.
Unnecessary bickerings in the matter must be avoided for peace to reign in the political front.
Dear Editor,
I write to appeal to the Metro Mass Transit Limited (MMTL) to put some of their buses on the Kasoa–Circle route to ease the challenges passengers face every day.
It might interest you to know that going to and from Kasoa is no child’s play. Sadly, it appears we have been left to our fate and at the mercy of greedy ‘trotro’ drivers who employ various tactics to extort money from passengers.
One of the means they usually employ is that at the station, they’ll tell passengers they are not going to Kasoa. However, when you join these vehicles, they take passengers to a point and start calling for new passengers to a different destination. It continues like that until they reach Kasoa. At all the new stops, they collect fresh fares from passengers.
So, it is not true that they are not going to Kasoa — the only reason they do that is to take more money from passengers.
By this behaviour, one ends up spending about GH¢20 for a journey that should cost around GH¢11, and the same amount on the return trip.
This behaviour also results in long queues at the stations at night, giving robbers and pickpockets a field day as they mingle with passengers struggling for transport and end up stealing from them.
I want to plead with the Metro Mass management to put buses on this route to reduce the inconvenience we go through after a day’s work.
The management could also devise ways to make their operations more convenient and reliable, and must consider setting specific times so that passengers would know when buses arrive and when they depart.
Kwesi Pino
Kasoa
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Dear Editor,
I write with deep concern about a safety hazard and the dangers commuters are exposed to, especially those who walk in the area at night.
Along one of the busy roads in the capital — the Neoplan Station stretch of the ‘Accra Dubai’ road — lie several culverts with their metal coverings removed, leaving behind gaping holes that endanger everyone who uses the stretch.
It is a danger to commuters who walk around the area. As a regular visitor to that area, I find it very disturbing. In fact, a gaze into the drain can make one feel dizzy — it is very deep.
These are very common sights from the Railway Crossing area to the Awudome Cemetery area, bringing to the fore the activities of scrap dealers who are mostly blamed for the disappearance of the coverings.
They are dangerous and easy to miss. Children walking to school, the elderly, and even motorists risk serious injury if nothing is done.
This is not just a matter of inconvenience; it is a matter of life. We have seen too many cases where a simple oversight leads to irreversible harm.
A child could fall in. A motorcyclist could swerve and crash. A pedestrian could be injured in the dark. These are preventable tragedies, and we must treat them as urgent.
We cannot wait for disaster before we act. I urge the relevant authorities to inspect such areas, replace missing covers, and prioritise public safety. A simple fix today could save a life tomorrow. Let’s not look away — let’s fix what’s broken before it breaks someone.
Kelvin Acheampong
Dansoman
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