Census: Stop the partisan recruitment – NDC Savannah tells government

The Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Savannah region is threatening to withdraw from the ongoing Population and Housing Census (PHC) if the victimization of qualified persons for the exercise does not end.

The NDC has described as worrying the removal of some names from the training list.

“This appears very mind-boggling as the PHC exercise was meant to be of national interest devoid of political and partisan infiltrations,” the statement sighted by Kasapaonline.com reads.

Below is the full statement:

DESIST FROM THE POLITICAL VICTIMISATION OF QUALIFIED POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS(PHC) RECRUITS OR WE WITHDRAW FROM COOPERATION.

The NDC- Savannah region has received numerous calls from well-meaning indigenes of the various districts, bringing to our notice the extreme partisan recruitment of the population and housing census staff by the Ghana statistical service for the upcoming 2021 population census.

The party’s attention has also been brought to the invasion of some training centers by thugs belonging to the New Patriotic Party(NPP), ransacking the premises and bringing to a halt the ongoing training with the demand of having all persons believed to be affiliated to the NDC, any other party or a particular ethnic group expunged from the list before allowing for it’s continuation.

These acts have so far been reported from the North East Gonja District, North Gonja District, West Gonja Municipal among others, having over 102 names of qualified persons mysteriously evicted from the list after being shortlisted for training. The expulsion of these names were done after some NPP thugs in these districts resisted and asked they were replaced with names of their party foot soldiers.

This appears very mind-boggling as the PHC exercise was meant to be of national interest devoid of political and partisan infiltrations. It therefore comes to us, as a shock that the Akufo-Addo led government intends politicising everything including a national discourse of this sort.

This out rightly confirms rumours of an intended sabotage of our district and constituency numbers so as to deny us the creation of new constituencies before the next election.

It has also been noticed that the various aspiring Municipal and District chief executives have taken this recruitment exercise as one to win the favor of their party footsoldiers thereby ensuring the recruitment of only persons loyal to their course.

We are calling on the Government, the Ghana statistical service and all stakeholders to as a matter of urgency reinstate all qualified persons victimised by virtue of assumed political affiliation, ethnicity or any other bizarre factor.

Failure to acquiesce to our concerns, We shall take appropriate steps including the withdrawal of cooperation in this exercise, the denial of access to our homes by recruited staff also belonging to the New Patriotic Party(NPP) and other legal remedies available to us in protecting the entire citizenry of the Savannah region.

Thank you.