The launch of the 2020 manifesto of the NDC by the flag bearer, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, on Monday and the call by the Electoral Commission on all Ghanaians who registered in the biometric voters registration exercise to participate actively in the voters exhibition exercise are the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Monday.
The Graphic reports that the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. John Dramani Mahama, has said the 2020 manifesto of the party, which will be launched today, will provide a path to turn Ghana into an advanced nation as soon as possible.
Providing some personal reflections on the political substance of the manifesto yesterday,
he said: “It is our sacred mission to turn Ghana into an advanced nation as soon as possible! It is our moral obligation to be bold and aim at greatness.”
He said what the nation saw as “good enough” should not be viewed as such any longer.
“To prosper and thrive, we need fundamental change. We need to set our standards and expectations far higher than good enough! If we settle for ‘good enough’, we settle for the slow death of our very soul and our pride,” he said.
The former President expressed gratitude to Ghanaians for the opportunity that was given him to serve as Vice-President and President for four years each.
“You offered me the humbling chance to serve you from the highest offices in Ghana — first as Vice-President, for four years, and then as President for another four years.
The newspaper says that the Electoral Commission (EC) has called on all Ghanaians who registered in the biometric voters registration exercise to participate actively in the voters exhibition exercise scheduled for September 18 to 25, this year.
The Commission said the exhibition was the final opportunity for registered voters to authenticate their personal information, as well as confirm if their names were on the register.
Again, the exercise would help the EC rid the register of unqualified persons ahead of the December 7 polls, it said.
The Director of Electoral Services at the EC, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe, who made the call, stressed that Ghanaians must see the exhibition as an important exercise because it would help all voters know where they would vote “because it is where you check your name that you will vote on December 7”.
Dr Quaicoe made the call at the national delegates conference and acclamation of the flag bearer of the National Democratic Party (NDP) in Accra last Saturday.
The Graphic also reports that the National Democratic Party (NDP) has acclaimed its founder, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, as the party’s flag bearer for the December 7, 2020 elections, with a call for a paradigm shift from the politicisation of national development policies.
The NDP founder, who made that call shortly after her popular acclamation as flag bearer at the party’s national delegates conference, said the habit of politicising national development policies for partisan interests must stop because it was counter-productive and inimical to sustainable development.
“We have the habit of politicising policies for national development in favour of coined stories geared towards elections. The focus is so much on party primaries and interests and this has taken precedence over the collective task of ensuring that government and governance are reflective of the diverse, yet collective view of Ghanaians; and we have got to move away from that,” she stressed.
A former First Lady said the time had come for political parties to refocus their lenses on long-term development visions, instead of short-term party visions, if the country was to develop.
“It is our ability to have a collective vision born out of our varied experiences, skills set and unique characteristics that will propel the best, highest, brightest and most patriotic individuals to advance a non-partisan agenda for our continued national development,” she added.
GIK/APA