Ghana election 2012: EC gets first batch of equipment in preparation for biometric registeration
The Ghana Electoral Commission (EC) has received the first batch of equipment in preparation towards the carrying out of biometric registeration for the 2012 general elections in December.
Ghanabusinessnews.com sources knowledgeable about the development have said the equipment arrived at the Kotoka International Airport last week and were cleared on Thursday January 5, 2012.
The items include laptops, Personal Computers and printers and accessories weighing 7,081 kg on 26 pallets, our sources said.
Mr. Owusu Parry, Head of Public Affairs at the EC has confirmed to ghanabusinessnews.com that indeed the first batch of equipment have arrived into the country and “these would be used for the training of technical people who will provide technical assistance for the exercise.”
He also indicated that all the equipment are expected into the country by the middle of February.
The information accessed by ghanabusinessnews .com shows that the equipment were shipped in from Israel by a company known as CMS International, but Mr. Parry said he does not know about that company. He said the company that won the contract to supply the equipment is Superlock Technology Limited (STL).
On Tuesday October 25, 2011, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, the Chairman of the EC presented a paper on the theme ”Biometric Registration and the 2012 Elections: Prospects, Challenges and the Way Forward for Ghana” at a roundtable discussion at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) to discuss Ghana’s adoption of a biometric voter registeration.
At this discussion he outlined the timetable for the registration, explaining that it is due to start in the first quarter of 2011. He said that even though registration will be polling-station based, with 6,500 registration kits, registration cannot be undertaken simultaneously.
The EC presented a budget of GH¢80 million to government in order to enable it fund the biometric registeration exercise before the 2012 elections, but it received GH¢50 million instead.
The Finance and Economic Planning Minister, Dr Kwabena Duffuor on July 14, 2011 told Parliament that the government has released GH¢50 million to the EC for the biometric registeration for the 2012 elections.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi