Women must brace up to salvage Ghana from economic doldrums-Prof Opoku-AgyemangAll eligible Namibians required to register to vote: Nghikembua

Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the 2020 running-mate of the Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has rallied the collective efforts of all women to salvage the country from its economic doldrums. She said the abysmal management of the country by the government had resulted in increasing hardships, uncertainty, unemployment, energy crisis and hopelessness, particularly among women and the youth. The huge financial needs of the country coupled with the tightening financing conditions, Prof Opoku-Agyemang said, had exacerbated debt sustainability concerns and reduced Ghana's competitiveness on the international market. The large capital outflows, combined with the tightening of monetary policy in advanced economies, had put significant pressure on the exchange rate, together with monetary financing of the budget deficit, resulting in high inflation. The former Vice Chancellor of UCC was speaking at the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung-Ghana programme ahead of the International Women's Day at t he University of Cape Coast. Speaking on the theme: 'Inspiring social and economic inclusion: Women thriving in the 24-hour economy,' Prof Opoku-Agyemang said: 'Therefore, we urge the Government to take urgent steps to initiate a discussion to create a national consensus on salvaging the nation's economy.' The process of healing the economy should be a collective action and must start with all Ghanaians, particularly women, she noted. On the role of women in nation building, Prof Opoku-Agyemang urged women to play productive roles in the nation-building process and use their voices as tools to effect societal change. She said women must advocate a change and upgrade themselves to have access to opportunities in life. For her, women in the country must be recognised and every positive effort they undertook to empower others must be appreciated. She bemoaned the fact that discussions on Ghana's Independence Day celebration seldom mentioned women as if they had contributed nothing to the success story of t he state. Source: Ghana News Agency WINDHOEK: All eligible Namibian voters will have to register to vote once the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) starts with the general registration of voters in June 2024. This is according to ECN chairperson Elsie Nghikembua, who said on Thursday that the current voter cards have reached their life cycle. 'The year 2024 marks the end of the life cycle of the current national voters' register. Hence, the upcoming elections will be preceded by a general registration of voters, during which all eligible Namibian citizens will be expected to register afresh to cast their votes in the forthcoming elections,' Nghikembua said during the launch of the ECN electoral calendar and democracy awareness campaign. As per the Electoral Act of 2014, as amended, she said the ECN is required to conduct the general registration of voters every 10 years and compile a new voter register. 'The last general registration of voters was conducted in 2014, when the commission deployed a biometric voter registration system for the first time,' she said. The general registration of voters will be conducted both inside the country and at all Namibian diplomatic missions, as required by law. Nghikembua said the general voter registration process that will start from 03 June to August 2024 will be conducted under the current Electoral Act, No. 5 of 2014. In preparation for the registration of voters and the national elections, ECN conducted a comprehensive electoral review of the previous elections, which culminated in the Integrated Mobile Voter Registration System. 'The Integrated Mobile Voter Registration System leverages technology to make voter registration more responsive and efficient, marking a significant milestone in our efforts to modernise and improve our electoral processes. The system incorporates advanced security and verification measures to ensure the integrity of the electoral processes,' she said. Nghikembua noted that the system was piloted in November 2023 and February 2024 through a mock registration process to ascertain its functionality and readiness. 'I am pleased to inform you that the system meets all the requirements to carry out the registration of voters and subsequent electoral processes,' she said. Meanwhile, the ECN chairperson revealed that the electoral body will use manual ballot voting methods during this year's elections and for the regional and local authority elections in 2025. The ECN has set 27 November as the day for the national elections. Source: The Namibia Press Agency