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New voters register will save Ghana 173m cedis – EC

NDC drags EC to Supreme Court

The Electoral Commission of Ghana has stated that its intended compilation of a new voters register will save the country 173 million cedis

The Commission says it will be more costly to upgrade the current register than to compile a new one.

They said it will cost the commission $19 million (approximately GH¢107.25 million) to refurbish the existing data centre, putting up a new data centre with its maintenance will cost it $7 million (about GH¢39.51 million).

Explaining the decision by the EC to compile a new register to the Daily Graphic in Accra, the IT consultant to the EC, Dr Yaw Ofori-Adjei, said the cost of maintaining the old biometric system was $74.36 million, while that of acquiring a new BVMS was $56 million.

Dr Ofori-Adjei said the EC would have to spend $38.69 million (GH¢218.40) if it were to use the existing BVR system for the 2020 elections, saying that would include the cost of refurbishment of some of the BVR kits used in 2016 and the acquisition of new ones.

He explained that out of the 5,500 kits used in the 2016 registration, the EC refurbished 1,500 at a unit cost of $3,500, bringing the total cost of refurbishment to $5.25 million.

He said the EC would require an additional 6,500 kits at a unit cost of $5,145.

That, he said, would put the cost of the additional kits at $33.44 million.

The IT consultant further explained that if the EC procured all the 8,000 BVR kits it needed for the new system for the 2020 elections, at a unit cost of $3,000, the total cost would be $24 million, compared to $33.44 million if it worked with the old system and equipment.

Dr Adjei said the EC also intended to acquire 80,000 BVDs at a unit cost of $400, making $32 million, compared to the $35.67 million it would spend if it were to refurbish the old ones and purchase additional BVDs from the previous vendor.

He said the commission opted against the proposal of the previous vendor to upgrade and refurbish the current data centre and its equipment for a combined build and one-year maintenance cost of $19 million for completely new data centre equipment with current systems for a combined build and three-year maintenance cost of $7 million.