Biometric registration cannot give you cancer - Vice President

Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday called on Ghanaians to ignore the inkling that was making the rounds that people who go in for the proposed biometric registration would be infected with cancer.

Instead, the Vice President appealed to them to come out in their numbers to register, when the Electoral Commissions begins the exercise from March 24, this year.

“Do not allow that rumour making the rounds to deny you of your franchise and civic responsibility to register and vote in succeeding elections,” he added.

Vice President Mahama made this call when he commissioned the upgraded and tarred Akatsi-Dzodze and Dzodze-Akanu roads in the Volta Region.

The roads, were sponsored by the Government of Ghana, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and African Development Bank (AfDB).

They formed part of the 11 trunk roads totaling 349 kilometres that are under construction in the entire Volta to facilitate the development and growth of the economy and to open up the region to neighbouring Togo, Benin, and Nigeria.

Vice President Mahama said government would construct and upgrade more roads throughout the country to improve mobility and accessibility since over 90 per cent of Ghanaians depended on road transport as their major source of transport.

He announced that government had completed negotiations with the Brazilian government to provide $250 million for the construction of the Damako-Watogo part of the Eastern corridor road in the Volta and Northern regions.

Mrs Marie Laurie Akin-Olugbade, AfDB representative in Ghana, said her outfit had supported the government of Ghana with a total of $2.3 billion over the years in areas such as transport, Agriculture, water and sanitation.

She promised that the office would continue to partner government to achieve their development goals to justify their partnership.

Mr Joe Gidisu, Minister for Roads and Highways, said government would continue to play its role in providing development projects and called on the people to show appreciation by putting them in good use.