Bolgatanga, March 9, GNA - The Director of National Service, Mr. Boniface Gambila, on Monday urged all Nabdams of voting age resident in Bolgatanga and elsewhere in the Upper East Region to take the forthcoming voter registration exercise seriously and go all out in their numbers to register.
He said the power to exercise their franchise in the forthcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections depends mainly on their readiness to register and obtain identification cards as voters to qualify to vote.
Mr. Gambila said this when he addressed a meeting of the Association of Nabdams resident in Bolgatanga to discuss development issues for the various communities in that area.
Key issues on the agenda of the meeting, were the need for the people to go home and register during the forthcoming voter registration exercise and the need for the people to constantly visit home to acquaint themselves with the development of the area.
The meeting was also to enable the members interact with one another and to generally look for avenues to discuss their welfare outside home.
Mr. Gambila explained the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to the people and said the 2.5 per cent deduction from workers contribution would not affect pension benefits of workers but it was a way to ensure that the poor who could not afford the cost of medical care under the "Cash and Carry" system are taken care of under the scheme.
He said government gives premium to the agriculture sector and it is determined to boost that sector nationwide. To this end, he added that government is to import tractors and other farm implements to support the programme with the newly created Talensi-Nabdam District to be catered for.
The Director called on Nabdams living outside the region to register at their various electoral areas adding that for the sake of development of that area, they should transfer their votes to the constituency to vote in the forthcoming election.
An official of the Electoral Commission (EC), Madam Felicia Atule, explained the processes involved in next week's voter registration exercise and said the exercise starts from March 16-29.
She added that the Upper East Region is among two regions selected by the EC to register voters and simultaneously take photographs and that if anybody fails to take the photograph for any reason, he or she would not be considered after the close of the exercise.
