President John Dramani Mahama on Saturday appealed to all registered Ghanaian voters to check up their records during the exhibition of the biometric voter register throughout the country to enfranchise them for the 2012 general election.
“It will be useless to be shouting slogans such as; ‘eye zu, eye za, kukrudu and many others, when indeed you have not crossed checked your particulars in the biometric register that will empower you to vote on December 7.”
President Mahama made the appeal when he addressed the chiefs and people of Cape Coast at a grand durbar to climax the Fetu Afahye festival.
The festival, which is celebrated annually to purify and pacify the gods for any wrong-doing within the past year, and to pray for bumper harvest in the succeeding years, was also attended by Mrs Ama Benyiwa Doe, Central Regional Minister, Dr Joe Oteng Adjei, Minister for Energy and Ms Hannah Tetteh, Minister for Trade and Industry.
The rest were; Mark Woyongo, Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Ebo Barton-Oduro, Deputy Minister for Justice and Attorney General and Mr. Henry Martey Newman, Chief of Staff, among other dignitaries.
President Mahama said this year’s general election was not about war or insults, but was issue-based, devoid of inflammatory language that could further polarize the country culturally, ethnically and politically.
He appealed to educationists and other opinion leaders to encourage the youth to get enrolled into technical and vocational courses that could create job opportunities for them on completion of their courses, rather than relying so much on government jobs that were almost non-existent.
President Mahama gave the assurance that government would, in collaboration with the private sector, work together to create jobs for graduates from the Technical and Vocational Institutions.
He appealed to the various Asafo Comapanies in the central region to use their cultural positions to defend and protect the traditional values that were useful for the advancement and growth of the customs.
Osabarima Kwesi Atta II, Omanhene of Oguaa, commended government for finalizing the proceedings to construct the Kotokruaba market and the Cape Coast sports stadium and pledged their support to ensure the completion and effective use of the facilities.
He also commended President Mahama and the NDC government for choosing Paa Kwesi Bekoe Ammissah-Arthur as Vice President, adding that, he was a replacement for late President John Evans Atta Mills, who also hailed from the Central Region.
The Oguaa Omanhene denounced rumour-mongering in his traditional area, which he said could retard and undermine the smooth and orderly progress of the region.