17th October, 2016

The Ghanaian Times writes on checking incumbency, vote buying and selling. The paper says the abuse of incumbency remains a bane of the country in its drive to building a strong democracy. The paper says the effect of incumbency abuse, vote buying and selling, if not checked deprive the electorate their basic liberty, and the right to freely choose a self government. The paper says the abuse of incumbency by politicians is an offence that is capable of undermining the constitution and give unequal chance to gain unfair advantage and for politicians to perpetuate themselves onto the people. The Times points out that these issues indeed must be addressed now before they escalate in future. 

The Daily Graphic says it is time for dialogue on electoral issues. It says in the run-up to the December elections, some suits have been brought against the EC, notably, the one by the Progressive People’s Party. The paper says a section of Ghanaians have expressed worry that the suits may result in a constitutional crisis, especially if the courts are not able to expedite action on the suits before Election Day. The Graphic is therefore pleading that instead of resorting to the courts, aggrieved parties, individuals and the EC should agree to dialogue on some of the issues that have the propensity to make the elections murky. 

The Daily Heritage commends the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing for the launch of a Water Sector Strategic Development Plan. According to the paper, irrespective of the significant gains made by government in widening the water supply network, many communities across the country still struggle to have access to potable water. The Heritage says with such a commitment, it hopes that priority will be given to the water sector so that the strategic plan will not be consigned to the shelve.

GBC