"Rejected Ballots Affecting The Democratic Choice"

A document differentiating between valid and spoit ballot

After the 2008 General Elections, Ghana was largely commended by the International Community for being one of the few African countries to have passed Huttinghton’s two-turn-over-of-the-executive test

This was when there had been two transition of political power from one party to the either, as 2000 General Elections set the milestone. We may have done well in this regard in an area many African countries have failed, but our effort is bedeviled with very serious challenges that need immediate attention.

One major way of consolidating a country’s democracy is free, fair and transparent elections. Ghana’s elections under the 4th Republic have seen major improvements. However, in an environment where rejected ballots keeps increasing massively over time and far exceeds the votes gained by all political parties excluding the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party, this is very unhealthy for Ghana’s democratic credentials.

A senior lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Ghana Legon, Dr. Ransford Gyampoh, has stated that the large number of spoilt ballots clearly affects the democratic choice of who becomes president or Member of Parliament.
He added that since elections in Ghana had been won on narrow margins, this matter should be of greater concern for Ghanaians.

Figures from the Electoral Commission (EC) show that, in 2008 General Elections, 205,438 ballots out of 8,671,272 votes cast were rejected ballots. This represented 2.4% of the total valid votes.

In the 2012 General Elections, the rejected ballots reached an alarming rate as 251,720 (2.3%); an increase of 46,282 in the previous elections. This is not healthy for our electoral process which has been acclaimed to be one of the best on the continent.
Prior to this year’s General Elections, I have not seen any conscious effort by the EC and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in addressing this serious problem. We should not be surprised if over 300, 000 valid votes cast find their way into the rejected ballot box in this year’s General Elections.

The EC must be serious and take the leading role in addressing this particular problem that has characterized Ghana’s elections for long.

In the 2008 elections, if any of the two leading parties, the NPP and NDC had gotten the rejected ballots; the nation would not have spent extra money to organize the second round of elections which really cost our country much.

The Biometric Verification Device (BVD) was introduced mainly to tackle the problem of double voting and that has further improved our electoral process even though there are some challenges that need to be addressed.

What has the EC done in minimizing rejected votes? Has the commission conducted a survey or scrutinized every rejected ballot to know which ones fall under:
• Voting for more than one candidate
• Ballots which were not stamped by the EC official
• No vote at all
• Feint voting, and any other form that could be classified as spoilt ballot and categorizing them in order to come to terms with the major causes of rejected ballots?

This will tell the basis of which the spoilt ballots are built upon. For instance, if it is detected at the end of the survey that ballots which were not stamped is the major cause of rejected ballot, it will be easier to address it. Thus, voters will be told to immediately examine the ballots to find out if it has been stamped by the EC before casting their ballots.

I took part in the 2012 General Elections as a reporter where I came into contact with what constitutes rejected ballots. From where I sit, I will find it difficult to believe that voting for more than one candidate is the major cause of rejected ballots.

It baffles my mind that thousands of people will deliberately do this. Something could be wrong somewhere that needs to be investigated for the betterment of our country. If folding of the ballot after voting is what is causing the problem on this category, then the EC must design a new method of printing the ballot papers.

Issues like change of logo which cost the state lots of money was peripheral knowing that rejected ballots is one of the major threats to our elections. I pray that we record low number of rejected ballots this time around and just after the elections are over, the EC must come clear on how it is working to dealing with spoilt ballots in our future elections.

This article was first first published in the Chronicle Newspaper on 16th November, 2016

http://www.peacefmonline.com/pages/comment/features/201611/298429.php

The Plight of a Community, Whose Source of Drinking Water is Infested With Animal Dung, Engine Oil

The only source of water for the residents of Alico Down

Whenever stories such as residents sharing their source of drinking water with animals and various indiscriminate human activities are told, the first impression would be that such people would be living in the hinterlands.

Some residents claimed that on most cases, taxi drivers and waste drivers wash their vehicles just in the middle of the stream, making the water very dangerous for human consumption. This is the plight of about 300 residents living in Alico down, an area in Odupong Ofaakor - one of the biggest suburbs of Kasoa in Awutu Senya East District of the Central Region.

Commercial drivers from Odupong Ofaakor to Kasoa charge Ghc1.60p. However, many of the residents in this area cannot get access to portable water like their counterparts in Kasoa. Some of them rely on rain water and transported water (polytank) for most of their domestic purposes.

But what if it does not rain for a long while, how do they get water? Some residents said they resort to “pure water for their domestic chores. However, some said it’s not every day they can purchase pure water or transported water for their domestic chores. Thus, most of them draw water from this stream, the only source of water for the community which is infested with animal dung and engine oil, for most of their domestic chores including drinking.       

 

A taxi driver washes his car in the stream

Some residents claimed that the Assemblyman of Ofaakor Electoral Area Mr. Andrews Addo Quainor is aware of their predicament, but has not paid a listening ear to them. The head pastor of Trust Gate Dominion Ministry Mr. Albert Owusu said “since the time we voted for him, we have not seen him again. What we know is that as an elected leader, we expected him to be responsive to our problems by coming to us to be abreast with our problems and not the people going to you”, he stressed.  

Another resident Madam Hannah Anning added that it is very unfortunate for residents in a town very close to the Weija Lake in Accra to share their only source of water with animals. “However, as the dry season approaches, it will be difficult for us to get water like this one to drink”, she lamented. 

When contacted, the assemblyman stated that the perennial water crisis is not a problem facing residents at Alico Down alone, but the whole of Ofaakor in general and he is doing his best to ensure they have portable water. Asked whether he has paid no listening ear to the plight of the people, he stated that was not the case.

 

Mr. Andrews Addo Quainor, Assemblyman for Ofaakor Elec. Area

“It is not that I have paid listening ear to their worries. I have done what I should do about it. It is left to the assembly to take actions on the proposal and the letters that I sent them”, Mr. Quainor stated.   

He added that people who wash their cars, including waste management vehicles will be identified and talked to in order to put a stop to this unfortunate behaviour.

A nine year old class five pupil of Einsten International School in Odupong Ofaakor Emmanuel Narh stated that whenever the stream overflows its banks after a downpour, the place becomes impassable making it very difficult to cross to the other side. He narrated that this is affecting his education.

Some residents fetching the "dirty" water

They are appealing to government, various philanthropists and Non-Governmental Organisations to come to their aid by providing them with portable drinking water and some essential basic necessities. 

https://www.modernghana.com/news/816000/the-plight-of-a-community-whose-source-of-drinking-water-is.html 

                                                           

UK Gov’t Must Recognize my Family … Former Ghana President Rawlings and I Have Similar “Bitter” Sentiments on the UK

UK Prime Minister Theresa May

Few years ago, dozens of Kenyan women went on demonstration claiming that “they were abandoned by [UK] soldiers who fathered children with them” (Daily Mail, UK). Some of such stories are not common on our continent.

Some European soldiers who were sent to Ghana (previously called Gold Coast) were perpetrators of rape, sexual abuse etc and no actions were taken against such people and were not compelled to take care of the children they have fathered. They did not come on their own, but were sent to work for their respective countries. I am a product of such circumstances and I appeal to the UK government to recognize my family. 

This will be a sign of respect and honour to my family.    

A middle aged man who sat beside me on a bus from Kumasi (Ghana’s second largest city) to Accra revealed to me during one of our conversations that [Former president] “Rawlings has a Scottish roots just like you. He tried looking for his father, but the man rejected him”.

To add more to this claim, a portion of an article on GhanaWeb published 1 March 2010 titled “How Rawlings Came up By The Name Jerry Rawlings” states that: “he [Rawlings] came to Britain trying to trace his father, but the man opened the door and slammed it back on him. He didn’t want to see him. That was what he (Rawlings himself) told me [Boakye Gyan, a friend to the former president] when he returned to Accra. He was bitter”.

UK Foreign Secretary Rt Hon Boris Johnson

Indeed, this was a very bitter experience. At that time, it was not money he wanted from the father nor personal belongings but yearning to see the person who fathered him. On the other hand, Mr. Rawlings should be a bit happy that once in his life, he saw his father. I say this because, my grandfather Robert Dandas (Dundas) Whigham, a former foreman of Ghana Railway and Harbours never saw his father -General Sir Robert Dundas Whigham (GCB, KCMG, DSO 1865-1950), – a British Army General  who worked on behalf of the UK government in the Gold Coast, from 1907 to 1911 .

He was first stationed in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region and later transferred to the coastal city of Cape Coast (Castle) in 1907. Gen. Whigham was the Lt. of the Infantry, West African Frontier Force (W.A.F.F.). His name was captured in the Government Gazette on Saturday, December 14, 1907, Accra, Gold Coast, West Africa.

The telegram prior to his leaving the colony reads as “TELEGRAM from O.C.G.C.R., Coomassie, to Col. Sec., Accra dated 13^th December, 1911:-

670/11 Decr. 13^th Captain Whigham left here yesterday for Seccondee enroute to England on leave”.

After fathering a child (my grandfather) born on 14^th October, 1911, Captain Whigham left the colony for his mandatory leave on 22 December 1911 whiles his son was just two months old. He never returned.

Evidence I gathered from his (my grandfather) family home in Cape Coast suggests that Captain Whigham did not leave any money for the child’s upkeep. The child’s mother’s uncle who worked with the Captain at the Cape Coast Castle gave the name to the child after he was born. Sources say he was directed by Captain Whigham to name the child after him. 

Government Gazette of 1907

However, because Captain Whigham many at times wrote his name as R.D. Whigham, the uncle misspelt the middle name Dundas as Dandas. That wrong name was given to my father (also called Robert Dandas Whigham, former artisan of Ghana Railway and Ports) and subsequently given to me as well. In 2009, after painstaking investigations have been done, I swore affidavit and changed Dandas to Dundas.

This totally shows a mark of irresponsibility on the part of some foreign soldiers who came to the West African colonies, fathered children and refused to take care of them just because they had wives back home in Europe.

The painful thing and extreme bitterness in my heart, just like Mr. Rawlings is that upon reading most of the documents I have intercepted, the UK Army has failed to capture his official working here in the Gold Coast and have maintained Egypt, Sudan, and South Africa. Why has the UK government done this?

A senior colleague told me that because Gen. Sir Robert Dundas Whigham was knighted, possibly it would be unfair to state that he had a son outside his marital home. Still painful! He left in 1911 and died 1950. 

What prevented him from coming to the Gold Coast to see the son he had fathered? I got a terrible experience when I wanted to register for the 2012 General Elections as one EC staff challenged me to provide additional evidence because he thought I was not a Ghanaian.

Perhaps what got me highly upset was when I found a picture on the internet (from a certified source) which shows the name “Whigham, Robert George Murray: He was the only son of General Sir Robert Dundas Whigham”. Upon seeing this, I wrote to the office of the British Prime Minister Theresa May and a BBC WhatsApp line (+447555173285) stating that George (a former UK Army officer died at 44) was not his only son. I have since not heard from them. The response I got from the Prime Minister’s Office states that “we do everything we can to respond to every email sent to us”. That was the end.

It is on record that James Ramsey John, A Scotsman was his father. The person who sat beside me added “till today, many Scottish refer to Mr. Rawlings as the only Scottish President. I do not know very much about Mr. Rawlings’ father in terms of work, however, since my great grand-father did not travel to the Gold Coast on his own, but came on behalf of the UK government, I have every right to appeal to the UK government to recognize my family.

Rawlings and I are One … A Comparative Family History of two Ghanaians Having Scottish descent, with “Bitter” Hearts

Fmr. President J.J. Rawlings

A middle aged man who sat beside me on a VIP Bus from Kumasi to Accra revealed to me during one of our conversations that [Former president] “Rawlings has a Scottish roots just like you. He tried looking for his father, but the man rejected him”.

To add more to this claim, a portion of an article on GhanaWeb published 1 March 2010 titled “How Rawlings Came up By The Name Jerry Rawlings” states that:

“He [Rawlings] came to Britain trying to trace his father,

 but the man opened the door and slammed it back on him.

He didn’t want to see him. That was what he (Rawlings himself)

told me [Boakye Gyan] when he returned to Accra. He was bitter”.

This experience is indeed very bitter. On the other hand, Mr. Rawlings should be a bit happy that once in his life, he saw his father. I say this because, my grandfather Robert Dandas (Dundas) Whigham, a former foreman of Ghana Railway and Harbours never saw his father -General Sir Robert Dundas Whigham (GCB, KCMG, DSO 1865-1950), – a British Army General  who worked on behalf of the UK government in the Gold Coast, now Ghana. 

1907 Gazette: Captain Whigham

He was first stationed in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region and later transferred to Cape Coast (Castle) in 1907. Gen. Whigham was the Lt. of the Infantry, West African Frontier Force from 1907 to 1911. His name was in the Government Gazette on Saturday, December 14, 1907, Accra, Gold Coast, West Africa.

The telegram prior to him leaving the colony reads as

“TELEGRAM from O.C.G.C.R., Coomassie, to Col. Sec., Accra dated 13^th December, 1911:-

670/11 Decr. 13^th Captain Whigham left here yesterday for Seccondee enroute to England on leave”.  

Gen. Sir Robert Dundas Whigham

After fathering a child (my grandfather) born on 14^th October, 1911, Captain Whigham left the colony for his mandatory leave whiles his son was just two months old. He never returned. Evidence I gathered from his (my grandfather) family home in Cape Coast suggests that Captain Whigham did not leave any money for the child’s upkeep. The child’s mother’s uncle who worked with the Captain at the Cape Coast Castle gave the name to the child after he was born. Sources say he was directed by Captain Whigham to name the child after him.

However, because Captain Whigham always wrote his name as R.D. Whigham, the uncle spelt the middle name (Dundas) wrongly as Dandas. That wrong name was given to my father (also called Robert Dandas Whigham, former artisan of Ghana Railway and Ports) and subsequently given to me as well. In 2009, after painstaking investigations have been done, I swore affidavit and changed Dandas to Dundas.

This totally shows a mark of irresponsibility on the part of some foreign soldiers who came to the West African colonies, fathered children and refused to take care of them just because they had wives back home in Europe.

The painful thing and extreme bitterness in my heart, just like Mr. Rawlings is that upon reading most of the documents I have intercepted, the UK Army has erased his official working here in the Gold Coast and have maintained Egypt, Sudan, and South Africa. Why has the UK government done this? A senior colleague told me that because Gen. Sir Robert Dundas Whigham was knighted, possibly it would be unfair to state that he had a son outside his marital home. Still painful! He left in 1911 and died 1950. What prevented him from coming to the Gold Coast to see the son he had fathered? 

Robert Dundas Whigham (grandfather)

I got a terrible experience when I wanted to register for the 2012 General Elections as one EC staff challenged me to provide additional evidence because he thought I was not a Ghanaian. Perhaps what got me upset was when I found a picture on the internet (from a certified source) which shows the name “Whigham, Robert George Murray: He was the only son of General Sir Robert Dundas Whigham”. Upon seeing this, I wrote to the office of the British Prime Minister Theresa May and a BBC WhatsApp line (+447555173285) stating that George (a former UK Army officer died at 44) was not his only son. I have since not heard from them.

I do not want to go deep into the family line of Mr. Rawlings because he knows it better than I do. It is on record that James Ramsey John, A Scotsman was his father. The person who sat beside me added “till today, many Scottish refer to Mr. Rawlings as the only Scottish President”.

Personally, I like Mr. Rawlings. The first time I saw him was the 1996 General Elections campaign when he was at the Sefwi-Wiawso traditional area in the Western Region to canvass votes for his re-election. Again this year, I submitted a petition to his office on a corruption case. Though his office never responded, I still maintain the love I have for him as a statesman.  

Family Picture taken in 2006

Few years ago, dozens of Kenyan women went on demonstration claiming that “they were abandoned by [UK] soldiers who fathered children with them” (Daily Mail, UK). I do not know very much about Mr. Rawlings’ father in terms of work, however, since my great grand-father did not travel to the Gold Coast on his own, but came on behalf of the UK government, I have every right to tell the UK government to recognize my family. It is not about asking for financial help, but recognizing my family will be a sign of respect and honour. 

https://www.modernghana.com/news/815491/rawlings-and-i-are-one.html               

TDI Committed to Providing Spiritual Backing to Inmates

Rev. Gyasi Kwaa, National Director TDI

The National Director of US-based Third Dimension Institute (TDI) Rev. Gyasi Kwaa has said that the institute is committed not only to providing the physical needs of inmates, but also the spiritual transformation and providing counselling and mentorship to inmates which will put them back on track after prison.

He made this known in a telephone interview after the institute together with research and education think tank, the Africa Centre for International Law and Accountability (ACILA) had presented a cheque of Ghc10, 137.50 to the Senior Correctional Centre of the Ghana Prisons Service in Accra.

The donation will be used to assist 45 inmates register for this year’s National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) examinations.

“After a person has gone through the system [prison], he needs some skills to reintegrate; he gets those skills but the skills are not enough. We believe that it is not enough to provide the material support, but also providing spiritual guidance and counselling so that they can put their lives back together and be on track. So that is where Third Dimension Institute comes in”, Rev. Kwaa noted.

In his remarks following the presentation of the cheque, he stated that TDI, which was founded by Dr. Frank Opoku Amoako, believes that it is essential to extend spiritual assistance to the inmates along with effective mentorship to ensure that they can fulfill their God-given destinies. He added that this will go a long way to equip inmates in order to build upon their potentials, adding that the institute will continuously extend their support.

“We have to help them to re-make their lives and re-fulfil their destinies. Prisons should not end a person’s life and truthfully if we don’t do this, what will happen is that if they come out of prisons and are not totally reformed, the likelihood of some of them going back to prison is quite high.

Already, available statistics indicates that almost a quarter of prisoners end up going back to prison. It could even go worse”, he said. He explained that anyone can make a mistake and fall into the grips of the law but once they have served their term, they have to be successfully re-integrated into society to prevent the ex-inmates relapsing into crime.

https://www.modernghana.com/news/795958/third-dimension-institute-committed-to-providing-spiritual-b.html

GJA Taking Instructions From Somewhere Else—William Nyarko

Roland Affail Monney, GJA President. Pix Credit: Citifmonline

The Executive Director of the Africa Centre for International Law and Accountability has stated that the statement issued by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on anti-corruption crusade days after Joy News' Manasseh Awuni's investigative story suggest that the GJA was taking instructions from somewhere else.

He was speaking on Joy FM's flagship programme, Ghana Connect on Friday evening, hosted by Evans Mensah.

"Looking at the timing, language and context of the GJA statement, it appears that the GJA was taking instructions from somewhere else", Mr Nyarko said.

He added that the GJA should rather be seen protecting and promoting the interest of journalists rather than spearheading the interests of businesses. This goes to affirm the statement issued by the Dean of Information and Communications Studies at the University of Ghana, Legon Prof. Audery Gadzepko describing the present state of the GJA as a "victim of corporate capture".

The GJA's caution statement released on 31st August 2017 titled "GJA on Anti-corruption Crusade" has brought divisions among many journalists in the country in their quest to hold government accountable to the people. This development, the executive director stated that there is absolutely nothing wrong issuing a caution statement. However, the "timing was wrong and needless", he stressed.

Mr Nyarko further added that if Jospong - the company indicted in Manaseh's investigate story, had responded to Multimedia at the time the company was contacted, probably the angle of the story could have changed.

ACILA Executive Director William Nyarko

He called for the need to train more investigative journalists as their impact on the society in holding governments accountable to the people is enormous.

Last month, Joy News Manaseh Awuni released an investigative piece where he raised concern into questionable contracts the Ministry of Local Government signed with subsidiaries of Jospong Group where it was alleged that the amount of the said contract had been inflated to the tune of Ghc130m.
Jospong refused to give information, reports say. However, Multimedia and Manaseh Awuni went ahead and published their findings after which Jospong Group resurfaced with their responses.

https://www.modernghana.com/news/801464/gja-taking-instructions-from-somewhere-elsewilliam-nyarko.html

http://www.adomonline.com/ghana-news/gja-taking-instructions-somewhere-else-william-nyarko/

Introduce Communal Service In Ghana’s Criminal Justice System—Former Magistrate

Mavis Kwainoe, ACILA Board Member, fmr. magistrate

ACILA Board Member and former magistrate, Mavis Kwainoe is advocating the introduction of communal service into the country‟s criminal justice system as a measure of reforming Ghana‟s criminal justice system and decongesting overcrowded prisons.

She made the call when research and education think tank, Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA) and US-based Third Dimension Institute – both non-profits and nongovernmental organisations, donated a cheque of Ghc10, 137.50 (about $2,300) to the Senior Correctional Centre of the Ghana Prisons Service in Accra to assist 45 inmates register for this year‟s National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) examinations.

I recommend the introduction of communal service which we don‟t have in our statutes and criminal justice system. We should have non-custodial sentences for those convicted to do communal service. They could weed around areas that need to be cleared, they could also be sent to hospitals to do painting for free” etc., she noted.

Rev. Richard Gyasi Kwaa, National Director of Third Dimension Institute, William Nyarko, Executive Director of ACILA, and Kwainoe presented the cheque and an exam success card to the Deputy Director of Prisons for Greater Accra and Officer-in-Charge of the centre, Mr. Chris Larvie.
Kwainoe, who is a Lecturer of Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Professional Studies (UPSA) and a Thomas Buergenthal Scholar, added that offences such as misdemeanours must attract only fines. This, the former magistrate noted, is one of the measures to decongest the prisons.

“When it comes to less serious offences, like petty stealing, simple assault and battery, I expect that at least the statute will allow only fines on the accused persons or at least for them to sign a bond of good behaviour. The prisons are already choked with serious offenders”, she added.

Commenting on the donation by ACILA and Third Dimension Institute aimed at reducing recidivism and helping to reintegrate ex-inmates back into society, she explained that one of the areas that Ghana has failed as a country is the lack of support for re-integration of ex-inmates into the society, adding that re-integration is very crucial because it could be one of the ways to prevent recidivism.

It is as a result of this that the Board Member of ACILA is advocating extensive funding and support system for the smooth re-integration of ex-inmates into the society.
“For instance, when somebody learns a vocation or any trade in the prisons, when they are coming out, they could be given some tools so they can use to start life. That support system
could also be where they have generated funds internally. They can use the funds to buy sewing machines etc so that when the person is coming out, at least it can be a wonderful farewell”, she added.

ACILA Executive Director William Nyarko

ACILA in May 2017 established in a research that the key reasons for recidivism include lack of a support system for ex-inmates when they return home. In addition, the ex-inmates lack the knowledge and skills they need to enable them to re-integrate into the society. Facing these challenges, nearly a quarter of them relapse into committing crime and going back to prison, the study noted.

It is as a result of contributing to addressing these challenges that ACILA and Third Dimension Institute are undertaking a project aimed at reducing the rate of recidivism, providing ex-inmates with the knowledge and skills they need to re-integrate into society, providing a support system for inmates, and providing legal aid for the indigent.
https://www.modernghana.com/news/795332/introduce-communal-service-in-ghanas-criminal-justice-syste.html

One Year after launch, National Migration Policy not implemented - ACILA

Launch of the National Mig. Policy. Inset Dr. Prosper Bani

The National Migration Policy (NMP) of Ghana which was launched by government in April 2016 with pledges to ensure its implementation, has not been implemented, laments research and education think tank, Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA).

ACILA’s executive director, Mr. William Nyarko told Graphic Online in an interview that ACILA’s monitoring of the implementation of the NMP has shown that the Ghana National Commission on Migration (GNCM), a body that is crucial for the implementation of the NMP, has also not been established.

It is recalled that the former Minister of the Interior, Mr. Prosper Douglas Bani launched the NMP on April 6, 2016 and pledged government’s commitment and readiness to ensure its effective implementation.
The NMP is aimed at providing a comprehensive framework to manage migration for Ghana’s sustainable development.

The Ministry of the Interior in collaboration with the Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee on Migration (IMSCM) and Ghana’s development partners organized the launching of the NMP. Funding was provided by the Ministry of Finance, International Organisation for Migration (IOM), German International Development Co-operation (GIZ), and the European Union (EU).
Continuing, Mr. Nyarko said that the implementation of the policy is very important as it does not only provide a policy framework, but also how to address migration issues, including irregular migration, internal migration, labour migration, and the return, re-admission, and reintegration of emigrant Ghanaians for sustainable development.

He, therefore, urged the new administration of Nana Akufo-Addo to prioritise the implementation of the NMP on its “to-do list” as it crosses its 100 days in office mark. 
Indeed, the importance of the policy was also emphasized by the framers of the policy as they noted that the “NMP is the first attempt by the Government of Ghana to formulate a comprehensive response to migration challenges”, adding that the “non-existence of a national strategic framework on migration and limited migration data has contributed to the ineffective management of migration in Ghana.”

In addition, the policy seeks “to close the gap between strategy and implementation to maximise the gains and minimise the costs associated with migration.”

In order to effectively manage migration for development, Ghana set up an Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee on Migration (IMSCM), which formulated the NMP. According to the NMP document, “the IMSCM, led by the Ministry of Interior, will promote the implementation of the NMP. The policy also envisaged the establishment of the Ghana National Commission on Migration (GNCM) to enhance its implementation.”

Graphic Online found that the lack of establishment of the GNCM is hampering the effective and co-ordinated implementation of the NMP especially as the mandate of the IMSCM that spearheaded the launch of the policy ended just after the launch and no new committee was set up by the Ministry of the Interior.

Establishing the Commission requires having due regard to the provision of logistics, where to situate the Commission, timeframe for recruiting staff and providing funds for payment of salaries, undertaking consultations with the various organizations that were identified as partners in the implementation of the NMP, and establishing a work plan for the implementation of the NMP.

Some dignitaries present at the launch. Photo Credit: Graphiconline

The NMP assigned roles and responsibilities to key institutions and stakeholders for the implementation of the NMP. For example, the media are to “Disseminate migration-related information to potential and return migrants; - Report and feature special articles/programmes on migration-related activities, e.g., human smuggling/trafficking, refugee situation, etc.; and - Sensitize the general public on the costs and benefits associated with migration.”

A stakeholder with knowledge of the NMP and why the policy has not been implemented explained that because 2016 was an election year, the focus of the government was basically on the elections than implementing the policy, adding that the commission was not constituted before the previous administration lost power.

“The timing of the launch of the policy could have played a role. Perhaps if the policy had been launched a year before, it could have been implemented”, the source noted.
Asked whether it was disappointing that a year after the launch of this critical national policy it still lies on the shelves and probably gathering dust, the source stated “it is a matter of goodwill on the part of stakeholders especially government. The policy was launched and government has to show enormous commitment towards the implementation of the policy.”

The sector ministry responsible for the implementation of the NMP is the Ministry of the Interior. A source at the ministry explained that the new administration might need some time to settle down, study the NMP, and provide policy directives for the implementation of the NMP.
Sharing a stakeholder and donor perspective, a source at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a major stakeholder, noted that “there is nothing concrete on the ground” on the part of government regarding the implementation of the NMP.

“We [IOM] are implementing bit and pieces of it, but not the policy. We are inter-governmental and we can only push to an extent like the setup of the migration commission. We provide the leadership role and we provide the guidance, training, (etc) but the real establishment (of the policy) should come from the government of Ghana. Ideally we would have loved to see the policy initiatives being implemented, but nonetheless, it has to do with the higher level”, the source added.

To effectively manage migration inflows in the country, the source added that IOM has set up a migration data sharing platform which will enable migration data to be put under one common platform and enable users to have access to the data, adding that “it’s not full stream implementation of the policy.”

In addition to the lack of full implementation of the policy, certain issues, including information gap has been identified. This pertains to the failure of some key migration stakeholders sharing their data and this could result in hampering the effectiveness of the migration policy in the country.

“Currently, even though the policy is there, there is still that gap. We have indicated the need for development and reliable data on migration but there are still gaps. The various agencies producing migration data – some produce the data and then do not even share with relevant agencies. They keep it for their administrative activities”, the source stated.

Meanwhile as the implementation of the NMP delays, migration, especially irregular migration is on the rise with thousands facing peril and death.
The perils that migrants who use irregular routes (by road through Niamey, Sahara Desert, Libya, Mediterranean Sea ) to travel to Italy or attempt to travel to Italy face, are well recounted by other survivors, with the death toll increasing exponentially over the years, according to data from the

The Missing Migrants Project and the Global Migration Data Analyses Centre.
According to the data, 5,267 deaths were recorded in 2014, rising to 5,740 deaths in 2015, and 7,259 deaths in 2016 with deaths from the Mediterranean routes (Eastern, Central and Western) accounting for about 60% of the recorded deaths.

Italy and other members of the European Union have been observing the rising trend of irregular migration with alarm and have been taking a number of steps to address the issue. However, a revealing fact is that unless economic conditions in African countries improve, irregular migration may become regular migration for some.

This article was brought to you by Graphic, Africa Centre for International Law and Accountability (ACILA) and Panos Institute West Africa, with support from the European Union.  

Additional reporting by Dundas Whigham

https://www.graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/one-year-after-launch-national-migration-policy-not-implemented-acila.html