CSOs Depressed Over EC’s Constant Postponement Of 2014 DA Elections

Alhassan M. Awal

CHOGGU, SAGNARIGU –GHANA’S District Assembly (DA) elections often held in every four years, has suffered another major setback following a decision by the country’s electoral body, Electoral Commission– to postpone the 2014 elections from October to January 2015, Civil Society Organisation Platform on Good Governance in the Northern Region has revealed.

“During the last elections held in 2010, the Electoral Commission postponed 8 out of 10 regions election dates five times before the execution of the elections in different months for five months which ended in February 2011”, Coordinator of the Platform Mohammed Alhassan Awal recalled at a press conference in Sagnarigu in the Sagnarigu District in the Northern Region of Ghana.

District Assembly elections have been held six consecutive times since December 6^th 1988/89, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010. “It is however worrisome”, according to the Platform, “to observe the continuous dwindling voter turn-up in District Assembly elections which was created to better enrich the bottom-up decentralized system of governance.”

Mr. Awal noted that, the Electoral Commission should have learnt its lessons from the challenges in 2010 district level elections especially with regards to the continuous change in dates.

 “Unfortunately, this trend has trickled down to 2014 where, as at October, 2014, the election date has been postponed three times (October to December and now January), with possibilities of further delays as no official communication for these postponements has been provided.

“We (referring to the Platform) have evidence to believe that the EC has plans to combine the local level elections with the referendum on Constitutional Review, and we believe this has contributed to the delay in the conduct of the election”, he emphasised.

According to Mr. Awal, who is also the Executive Director of Northern Sector Action on Awareness Centre (NORSAAC), Ghanaians have full rights to timely information in order to make informed decisions that will enrich their lives as individuals, society and the country as a whole. 

He demanded that, the Electoral Commission, as a matter of urgency must take a clear stand and publicly communicate the actual date for the district level elections as well as the time table for the whole electioneering process.

The Coordinator of the Civil Society Organisation Platform on Good Governance in the Northern Region, also urged government to immediately release resources to the Electoral Commission for the conduct of the local elections.

Christian Owusu Parry

Meanwhile, Director of Public Relations at the Electoral Commission Christian Owusu Parry told Savannahnews, that the Commission is yet to announce an official date for the District Assembly Elections, but hinted that, the elections will be held early next year.

Accordingly, he refuted claims by CSOs that, the elections have been postponed severally, adding that, “I don’t recall that we put out a date and we have postponed. We haven’t put out any date yet”, Mr. Parry noted.

Mr. Parry also indicated that, the Commission’s concentration so far has been on the preparation towards the District Assembly Elections and further refuted claims that, the Commission intends to combine the election with the referendum on the Constitution Review. “We’ve not heard anything from the Constitution Review Committee to suggest that we’ve to combine the elections with the referendum”, he said.

On whether the delay in holding the elections is as a result of government’s inability to fund it, Mr. Parry stated that, the Commission has submitted a budget to government and that government has been releasing monies to the Commission from time to time for activities.

RAINS Donates Bicycles, TLMs To Pupils & Schools In Northern Region

Beneficiaries of Bicycles

The Regional Advisory Information and Network Systems (RAINS), a child rights promotion and development organisation in Tamale in partnership with Canadian Feed The Children (CFTC), has donated forty (40) bicycles to children in deprived communities to aid their movement to and from school. 

RAINS and CFTC also presented a large quantity of assorted teaching and learning materials (TLMs) as well as classroom desks to the Sang Zakaria Islamic Primary School, Kpachelo English and Arabic School, Bidima D/A Primary School and Zoosali M/A Primary School. 

The donations forms part of the implementation of the INCOME programme by RAINS and CFTC, Project Officer Gloria Wusufor Akugri told Savannahnews in an interview shortly after a presentation at Kpachelo English and Arabic School in Nanton in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality in the Northern Region of Ghana. The two organisations had earlier made similar presentations to the other three schools during their annual performance review meetings.

Integrated Community Empowerment (INCOME), a CFTC funded programme spanning three-years (2013-2015) is being implemented in four communities in two districts and a municipality. They include Sang in the Mion District, Bidima in West Gonja District, Kpachelo and Zoosali in the Savelugu-Nanton Municipality. 

The programme intends to strengthen educational structures such as Parent Teacher Associations and School Management Committees at the community level to engage the necessary actors in quality education delivery; and build the capacity of community stakeholders on advocacy and lobbying on issues concerning education, food security among others.

Ms Akugri explained that, the programme since its inception has supported 1,077 children at the basic school level and 240 women smallholder farmers in all four beneficiary communities. “In 2013, we spent GH¢132,028.00 on education and agriculture in all four communities. In 2014, we’re spending GH¢179,518.25; and in 2015 implementing year, we’re likely to spend an estimated GH¢214,326.00”, she stated. 

Pupils of Sang Zakaria Islamic Sch. rejoice over new TLMs

She also indicated that, through the programme, nine untrained teachers in all four basic schools are being supported to pursue Diploma in Basic Education at various Colleges of Education and the University of Cape Coast. “RAINS/CFTC supports in paying the school fees of beneficiaries”, Ms Akugri emphasised. 

According to her, some women in the beneficiary communities during the 2014 farming season were also supported to go into farming to enhance their food security and income situations. “Additionally, we’re donating new sets of classroom desks to pupils at the kindergarten and class 1 levels in two of the four schools who until now, were sitting or lying on the floor to write whereas all four schools receive TLMs”, Ms Akugri noted.

Meanwhile, Headteacher of Kpachilo E/A Primary School Abubakari Mohammed Awal, expressed gratitude to RAINS and CFTC for their enormous support in recent years saying “without these two organisations, perhaps, our situation would have been worse than our present condition”.

With a population of 237 pupils, the school currently has no single conducive classroom to sit in for effective classes. This is because, the six unit classroom block of the school which host classes one to six was in the beginning of the 2014/2015 academic year declared “deathtrap and unusable” by Engineers of the Savelugu-Nanton Municipal Assembly.

At the moment, classes are held under trees and each time it threatens to rain, the children according to Mr. Awal, are asked to go home. He said, the situation will continue pending when the Assembly builds a new school at a different location in the community for the school.     

UDS Holds 22nd Matriculation, Admits 6,334 Fresh Students

Vice Chancellor of UDS

The University for Development Studies (UDS) has in line with its mandate, admitted 6,334 fresh applicants to pursue various diploma, undergraduate and graduate programmes for the 2014/2015 academic year, Vice Chancellor Professor Haruna Yakubu has announced.

“Out of a total number of 18,961 applications received, the university admitted 6,334 applicants out of which 60% are males and 40% are females”, he said, in a statement during the 22^nd matriculation ceremony of the UDS in Tamale.

It is a normal practice by universities and other tertiary institutions across the world to conduct matriculation ceremonies, bringing together the highest authority of such institutions, students, parents and guardians as well as other stakeholders in education. Matriculations mark the formal admission of fresh students into such institutions and the UDS has since its establishment honoured this requirement as a promising world class university. 

As a university which runs a multi-campus system, about 1,737 students gained admission into the Tamale Campus, Nyankpala Campus 638, Navrongo Campus 1,278 and Wa Campus 2,681. “Also, 274 graduate students have been admitted this year representing a 72% increase over last year’s figure”, Prof Haruna emphasised.

Prof. Haruna also stated that, the UDS was undergoing tremendous transformation and growth through the construction of projects across the various campuses, which are intended to modernize and improve the capacities of lecture rooms, laboratories, teaching and learning facilities in order to keep pace with the growth that the university is experiencing. 

He also reassured parents and guardians that the university and its management have put in place measures to prevent the occurrence of the dreadful Ebola disease. “We have put in place the protocols for the early detection and possible isolation of suspected Ebola patients. I therefore would like to urge students, parents and guardians not to be scared of this epidemic”, Prof. Haruna assured.

Meanwhile, in his usual fatherly gesture, Prof. Haruna Yakubu admonished students to desist from forming and/or engaging in activities of unregistered student clubs or associations. “We however, totally reject and will not countenance the activities of unregistered clubs and associations and occultism on all our campuses. We shall revoke the rules and regulations drastically and mercilessly on any student or groups of students who engage in occultism and other antisocial or nonconformist activities,” he stressed. 

Established in May 1992 by the Government of Ghana, the UDS exist to blend the academic world with that of the community in order to provide constructive interaction between the two for the total development of Northern Ghana, in particular, and the country as a whole. 

The University was borne out of the new thinking in higher education which emphasizes the need for universities to play a more active role in addressing problems of the society, particularly in the rural areas. The UDS by its mandate and constituency has a pro-poor focus. This is reflected in its methodology of teaching, research and outreach services. The specific emphasis on practically-oriented research and field-based training is aimed at contributing towards poverty reduction in order to accelerate national development. 

It began academic work in September 1993 with the admission of thirty-nine (39) students into the Faculty of Agriculture, (FOA), Nyankpala campus. The Faculty of Integrated Development Studies, (FIDS), Faculty of Planning and Land Management (FPLM) and School of Business, Wa, School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), Tamale, Faculty of Education (FOE), Tamale, Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources (FRNR), Nyankpala, Faculty of Applied Sciences (FAS), Faculty of Mathematical Sciences (FMS), Navrongo and the Graduate School now in Tamale were phased in from 1994 to date.

UDS is unique compared to other public universities considering its location and multi campuses which are spread out in rural Northern Ghana where the incidence and depth of poverty is high. Its vision is pro-poor aimed at addressing the conditions and structural causes of poverty. The UDS has four (4) campuses, seven (7) Faculties, a Business School, one Medical School, one Graduate School and three (3) centers. Several programs are run at these places. 

The UDS also runs a community-technical interface programme. This is a combination of the academic and community-based field practical work known as the Third Trimester Field Practical Programme (TTFPP).