Features
My humble opinion on election 2020 amid COVID-19
December 7, 2020, is a very important date in the governance processes in our country called Ghana. It is very important because it is the date for the election of members of the Legislature and the President and for that matter the Executive arm of government, in any election year.
The constitution makes that date sacrosanct and until what is enshrined in the constitution is changed, nothing can be done about it and, therefore, come rain or shine; elections must be conducted on December 7, 2020.
This, therefore, places an onerous responsibility on the Electoral Commission (EC), the government, civil society and all other stakeholders including the electorate.
Since the conduct of elections on December 7, this year is given, all stakeholders are faced with a serious challenge, in that we are not in normal times.
The COVID-19 has created an environment which makes the smooth running of the electoral process very problematic. In normal times, electoral processes have generated a lot of tension and there have been occasions where disturbances have occurred at registration centres.
Delays have resulted which had in the past created unnecessary tension in the country with political parties having a go at each other and at the EC.
Going into the elections some political parties are of the view that the decision of the EC to compile a new voters’ register is not necessary and that the EC must, therefore, quash that idea.
The ruling government on the other hand is of the view that the electoral register as currently constituted, is not credible since there is credible evidence that the cleaning ordered by the Supreme Court has not been effectively done.
Given this scenario, the only way out is for the EC which is the arbiter, to take its own decision and so it has decided to compile a new voters’ register and all stakeholders must support it(EC).
However, if we go along with the decision of the EC, a concern raised by those opposed to the compilation of a new voters’ register is brought into sharp focus.
Given the mode of infection of the COVID-19 virus, the issue of increase in the infection rate due to more people being brought together at the registration centres cannot be overlooked.
In the same vein, given our past experience of how passionate people are on the day of election, the possibility of a huge number of people being infected cannot be glossed over.
This brings us in a quandary as a nation and the phrase of the renown poet Shakespeare, in the book ‘Hamlet’ “to be or not to be, that is the question” aptly fits our current situation.
The devastation of economies and the havoc COVID-19 has wreaked on individual lives across the world is nothing to be toyed with. The consequences that further infection can wreak on the nation give cause for concern and so if that likelihood exists, then there is the need to look at various options to prevent its occurrence.
What must be noted is that any attempt to change the date of the election would require a change in the constitution to enable the EC to act accordingly without flouting any laws.
The first option available to the EC is to postpone the elections so that the concerns of those opposed to the compilation of a new voters’ register based on the view that there is the likelihood of the spread of COVID-19 can be addressed.
In order to be able to do this, the constitution has to be amended to give the EC the power and the lawful authority to execute same. When the elections are postponed, there must be amendment of other provisions to prevent a vacuum being created because under the current constitution, the term of the president expires after midnight of January 6, 2021.
Postponing the election, therefore, would have to be looked at in terms of the feasibility of amending the constitution within the next five months to prevent a constitutional crisis.
Former President Kuffour started a discussion on the term of office of presidents being revised upwards to at least five years instead of the current four years.
Currently, that idea is gaining momentum and there have been talks about amending the term of office of the president and maybe this COVID-19 and the challenges of the compilation of a new register, provides us with an opportunity to amend the constitution to facilitate the implementation of this idea. This would definitely help in reducing expenditure on elections which also affects the inflation rate especially during an election year which ultimately affects the quality of life of the larger populace.
The EC has an opportunity to make a strong case to Parliament and the Judiciary as well as the Executive that it needs time to conduct COVID-19 risk free elections and ask for a stakeholders’ discussion on the issues involved in such a decision.
Another issue raised by those who are advocating abolition of the idea of a compilation of a new register is cost that would be incurred compared with the use of the current register.
The use of the current voters’ register would definitely reduce the expenditure on elections but the EC would still have to conduct limited registration. The limited registration would involve people queuing to go through registration process and the risk of infection would be present although at a reduced level.
The thing is that one life lost through COVID-19 is one too many and, therefore, if there is the risk of infection in the conduct of registration, then we must as well postpone it altogether.
Those who are claiming that it is unnecessary for a compilation of a new voters’ register and that only limited registration is required, has a point, but they should realise that it would also provide a risk of infection although on a limited scale compared with a mass compilation.
Whether limited or mass, the risk of infection on Election Day, is still awaiting us and it is time we all examined the issue and took a decision that would be beneficial to all of us. The only time the risk of infection would be absent is when a vaccine for the disease is found.
I hope that those who are using the argument of the risk of COVID-19 infection would agree to the amendment of the constitution to extend the term of office for the president since it is envisaged that the earliest time a vaccine could be obtained is towards the end of 2021.
In order to resolve the disagreements among the political parties regarding the credibility of the voters’ register, the only way out is for a collaboration between the EC and the NIA so that the Commission can compile its register by selecting those who are 18 and above and are Ghanaians and are of sound mind. There would be no more arguments about the register and the cost of compilation would be minimal not to mention the absence of political tension.
Given the time left between now and the elections, this collaboration would have to be done in future and so all of us either support the EC to carry out a compilation of a new register or postpone the elections by amending the constitution.
Laud Kissi-Mensah
Features
A focus on Mr Edmund Armar
Happy New Year to you all! Today, I am back with my narration of personalities and their accomplishments as members of the Ghanaian Diaspora in Finland with a focus on Mr Edmund Armar.
Mr Armar, affectionately called ‘Eddie’ by his peers, is a well-respected senior member of the Ghanaian community in Finland.
He moved to Finland in the early 1990s. He has lived in other places in Finland but now lives in Vantaa, a part of the greater Helsinki region.
Accomplishments and honours
It is important to recount accomplishments as part of the success stories of the personalities of Ghanaian descent in Finland to highlight their exploits both within the Ghanaian migrant community and in the wider Finnish society.
Mr Armar has been an active member of the Ghana Union Finland, which is a non-governmental organisation for the Ghanaian migrant community in Finland. He is always present at events organised by the Union and contributes to the various activities at such events.
Mr Armar has other accomplishments. He is the proud father of an adult (18 year-old) son.
Other unique characteristics
Mr Armar is a Ga from Accra. It may interest you to know that Mr Armar’s maternal lineage is traced from the royal family of the Ga Mantse. His late mother is a direct descendant of King Tackie Tawiah III.
On his paternal side, Mr Armar’s late grandfather was an astute and prominent businessman who also lived and was well-known in Calabar, Nigeria. Mr Armar also comes from a well-known family of educated elites. One of his uncles was a well-known mathematician who co-authored maths books used for schools in Ghana, approved by Ghana’s education services in the 1970s and 1980s as mathematics textbooks in schools.
Recently, I got to know that Mr Armar was a school mate of former Vice President, Dr Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia, whom he affectionately called Mahamudu.
They both attended Sakasaka Primary School, where Mrs Benefo served as the headmistress.
Working life in Finland
Mr Edmund Armar has worked in various companies in Finland. He currently works with the Post group, Finland Posti, where he has been for many years now.
He has risen to a high rank at his workplace and has helped others to find jobs at that place and others elsewhere.
His role in the Ghanaian community
As I have mentioned already, Mr Edmund Armar has been very active in the Ghanaian community. He is still very active in the Ghana Union Finland and other smaller Ghanaian associations.
Apart from being an active member of the Ghana Union Finland, Mr Armar was once an executive member of the Brong Ahafo Association.
He has been a counsellor and mentor who has guided many young Ghanaian migrants on their career paths and has also been part of helping them to settle in Finland.
Mr Armar lives in Helsinki with his teenage son, after the demise of his wife about nine years ago.
Dear readers, once again, a very happy new year to you all. Expect more of such interesting stories about people of Ghanaian descent in Finland, about Ghana immigrant groups/associations and their accomplishments in the Finnish society in my subsequent narrations. Thank you!
GHANA MATTERS column appears fortnightly. Written in simple, layman’s terms, it concentrates on matters about Ghana and beyond. It focuses on everyday life issues relating to the social, cultural, economic, religious, political, health, sports, youth, gender, etc. It strives to remind us all that Ghana comes first. The column also takes a candid look at the meanings and repercussions of our actions, especially those things we take for granted or even ignore. There are key Ghanaian values we should uphold rather than disregard with impunity. We should not overlook the obvious. We need to search for the hidden or deeply embedded values and try to project them.
perpetual.crentsil@ yahoo.com
By Perpetual Crentsil
Features
Prostitution in Sikaman (Final Part)
Behind any successful prostitution venture is a pimp. A pimp is the official public relations officer of a prostitute. He manages the prostitute, supplies clients, organises the trade to maximise profits from which he earns an income. Occasion- ally, he demands a sexual treat and he is not denied. That is his bush allowance.
Prostitutes hire pimps because the trade is a precarious one. You have men who want hot sex on credit basis. They complete the act, get satisfied, and pretend they have no cash on them, so payment be deferred.
But sex as a commodity cannot be compared with a ball of kenkey which can be credited on a carry-forward basis. So the prostitute informs her pimp to make the customer pay or face an Osama Bin Laden revolutionary action. The pimp, there- fore, has a dual role, one of which is that he is a debt collector.
The collection of debt from a client can sometimes require macho, so the typical pimp is hard-shelled akupa who may not be too intelligent, but has muscle. He can deliver a punch and cause internal bleeding.
So he tells the defaulting client to pay up or save his shoes and shirt and collect them back if he comes to settle. No court case!
Sometimes, the customer cannot accept the terms which include walking home barefoot and half-naked, so he must fight his way out, in the process he can lose an ear, his front teeth and end up in the home with a swollen nose. It’s all part of life.
In Sikaman, most prostitutes do without pimps. They consider pimps as parasites who batten on the income they derive from strenuous work. Fact is that some clients are not normal in terms of the size of their equipment. They can cause collateral damage to the reproductive organs of the human female.
Prostitutes who do without pimps are experts in street-fighting because they face problems when it comes to handling cheating clients. A client requires three rounds and it is granted. Later he says he can only pay for one. Wallahi!
The typical street prostitute develops long finger-nail, in case it comes to teaching a client where power lies. She can scratch your face red and fix a finger-nail into your eye. When you get home, you’re likely to tell your wife that you’ve got Yes, Apollo in one eye!
Servicing a client can take different forms depending on the type of prostitute and caliber of the client. Some do not like fore-play. It wastes time and is bad for business. So they get you on and order start work. They have subtle ways out of making you climax quickly. You settle your fee and make way for someone else. No messing up. No messing up. No extra time. Clients who delay in reaching orgasm are advised in their own interest to “come quickly” or get thrown off.
Clients who want romance pay more. Those who wear condoms pay relatively less than those who want to go ‘raw.’ It all depends on choice. There are some who are prepared to risk AIDS to get sexually satisfied. And they’d tell you, “All die be die.”
The trade in sexual acrobatics and gymnastics is having its toll on Sikaman prostitutes. Prostitutes are getting skin cancer because they use dangerous chemicals agents to bleach the skin. Others get syphilis, gonorrhea and herpes simplex.
By far, the most devastating impact on the flesh trade is the Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV) which causes AIDS. Go to Korle Bu and you’ll find them there. Some have had a stint in La Cote d’Ivoire and come back to Ghana to do some part time distribution of the virus.
Prostitution in Sikaman is becoming a death trade because it is an enterprise that flourishes underground. If it can be legalised and brought to the surface where prostitutes can be educated on the health implications of their trade, it would do the country a lot of good.
This is being done in Namibia where 23 per cent of adults are HIV infected. They are about to get prostitution legalised to help combat the AIDS menace.
Prostitution is an evil trade. But anyone can imagine what will happen if there were no prostitutes. Rapists would abound and the incidence of sexual attacks and defilement will sky-rocket. Many men who would otherwise have been raping women are making do with prostitutes.
I guess to legalise prostitution would raise problems bordering in the moral psyche of the nation. But its practical significance can also not be discounted.
This article was first published on Saturday, February 10, 2001
