Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako has described as unfair, new filing fee for flagbearer aspirants of the opposition National Democratic Congress.
National Executive Committee of the NDC following a petition by nine aspirants to the party’s Council of Elders and founder Flt Leut. Jerry John Rawlings reduced filing fee for aspirants from GH400,000 to GH 300,000.
The aspirants had proposed GH 100,000 in filing feeswith nomination forms at paltry GH5,000.
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The NEC however slashed the filing fee from GH 400,000 to GH 300,000 whilst maintaining the nomination forms at GH 20,000.
But speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show Thursday, Mr. Baako Jnr wondered why the filing fee could be pegged at GH 300,000, more than twice of what the aspirants asked for.
“The 100,000.00 reduction makes no difference at all and I will be surprised if the aspirants concede the new amount is fair. They asked for a nomination fee of 5,000 and filing fee 100,000.00 but what they put before them now is 300,000. It is 200,000.00 more than their 100,000.00.”
He believes the aspirants; majority of who areexperienced politicians had no case in making what he described as ‘noise’ forreduction in filing fees.
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“I didn’t get the noise and I believe it was too much. They were making noise that we were contributing to corruption but when you go and mobilise the millions we don’t hear of for campaigns, is that one immunity? They were talking about monetization posing a threat to democracy but would be required to mobilise funds to win or lose for the party in the 2020 elections. They would have still paid more than the GHC420 so why were we pretending?.
Mr Baako further stated the aspirants were not
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Meanwhile, the January 19, 2019 Presidential Primary for the party has been rescheduled to January 26, 2019 despite some aspirants insisting on the first week of March, 2019.