The completion of the nationwide mass registration and the mop-up exercises with the issuance of 13,848,697 cards to Ghanaians, home and abroad and the pledge of government not to engage the separatist group which is seeking the independence of some parts of the Volta Region are some of the leading stories in Ghanaian press on Thursday.
The Graphic reports that the National Identification Authority (NIA) has completed the nationwide mass registration and the mop-up exercises with the issuance of 13,848,697 cards to Ghanaians, home and abroad, as well as foreign nationals with residence permits in Ghana.
The exercise, which began in the Greater Accra Region on April 29, 2019, saw a total enrolment of 15,549,242, out of which 14,689,672 cards were printed.
However, the number of cards that have been printed but not issued and print backlog amount to 840,974 and 859,570, respectively.
The number of people who registered with required documents, such as passports and birth certificates, stood at 3,306,799, while those who registered through vouching by oath were 12,191,654.
The total enrolment is made up of 8,268,429 females and 7,280,813 males.
The top five regions with the largest enrolment of people above 15 years are Ashanti, 3,016,319; Greater Accra, 2,970,391; Eastern, 1,670,262; Central, 1,670,262, and Western, 1,175,058.
The newspaper says that Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia says government will not engage the separatist group which is seeking the independence of some parts of the Volta Region.
According to the Vice President, the group’s assertion of the Western Togoland territory was a figment of their imagination.
He said in a radio interview on Accra-based Asempa FM that, the actions of the group were criminal and must be condemned by all.
“Negotiation with criminals? On what basis? Then we will be open to many things and tomorrow you go somewhere and another group will also come and say they are the northern territories [seeking independence]. It will not happen. It doesn’t make sense,” the Vice President said.
“The Mamprusis, Gonjas, Oti people are part of Ghana. They have not expressed interest in going anywhere so where is this figment of a Western Togoland? Where is it? Is it Ho? Kpando or Kpeve? There is no legal basis for those demands. It is criminal and so Ghana must come together… Some criminals are trying to misrepresent history and engage in criminal activities,” he added.
The Graphic also reports that Vice President, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, says government will not engage the separatist group, which is seeking the independence of some parts of the Volta Region.
According to the Vice President, the group’s assertion of the Western Togoland territory was a figment of their imagination.
He said in a radio interview on Accra-based Asempa FM that, the actions of the group were criminal and must be condemned by all.
“Negotiation with criminals? On what basis? Then we will be open to many things and tomorrow you go somewhere and another group will also come and say they are the northern territories [seeking independence]. It will not happen. It doesn’t make sense,” the Vice President said.
The Times reports that theft and burglary were the topmost crimes committed in about 2,770 communities across the country, in May and June, this year, a survey conducted by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has revealed.
This was followed by domestic violence and assault, in communities which shared borders with other countries, lockdown areas, and communities which had neither lockdown nor shared borders with other localities.
These came to light yesterday when the Government Statistician, Professor Samuel Kobina Annim, briefed journalists about the survey, which focused on the impact of the COVID-19 on local communities.
It was conducted through its Local Economies Tracker, which spanned over the months of May and June, 2020.
Prof Annim stated that, while, there was a general increase in criminal activities by 34.1 per cent, localities in lockdown areas had the highest increase in crime rate, recording 47.1 per cent of all the crimes committed with the period under consideration.The newspaper says that a total of 2,262 Ghanaian domestic workers who were allegedly maltreated and left stranded in Lebanon have been evacuated by the government.
They were brought home by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration (MFARI) in an extensive rescue mission, which was undertaken between June 19 and September18, this year.
The Deputy Minister of MFARI, Mr. Charles Owiredu, who briefed the media in Accra yesterday, said to keep the evacuees active, the government would soon enrol them on technical and vocational training programmes.
He recalled that the domestic workers were rescued by the Ghana Embassy in Cairo (Cairo Mission), which currently has jurisdiction over Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan and Palestine.
He said a total of $1,062,600 was spent on the mission by the government with a contribution of $634,150 and $428,450 respectively from Mr. Kennedy Agyapong, Member of Parliament for Assin Central and his friends.
GIK/APA