Separate fund for EC will burden Ghanaians - Vitus Azeem

The Executive Director of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Vitus Azeem, has opposed the suggestion that a separate fund should be created for the Electoral Commission (EC) to enable it fund to its activities and also to make it independent.

According to him, the move will put an “additional burden on the ordinary person".

A founding Dean at the Faculty of Law at the University of Cape Coast, Professor Bondzi Simpson, has suggested that government should establish a fund for the EC so that the Commission can easily and effectively carry out its duties before, during and after an election.

He noted that the over-reliance on government for funding during elections is crippling and affects the independence of the EC.

In an interview on Eyewitness News on Monday, Mr. Azeem said that other sources of income should be explored explaining that “it is going to increase the burden on the ordinary person because those who are suggesting that we should have that fund, they are not saying anything about the source of funding and the only source is from tax…and that is going to be too much for us".

He added that the suggestion that the money can be taken from the consolidated fund is not a viable solution because government’s support to the EC is already from the consolidated fund which is not adequate and often delayed.

Mr. Azeem however suggested that “if government is able to find a way of finding additional resources from the consolidated fund, fine".