With the last update from government, Ghana had recorded over 5,000 positive COVID-19 cases with the Bono Region being the recent region to join other affected regions which have made Ghana one of the countries with the highest recorded cases in Africa.
Last month, almost all institutions issued directives to their workers to stop using biometric clock devices.
The rationale behind this directive was to prevent the spread of the Covid19.
This action by head of institutions has generated the debate on the use of the Biometric Machine during the purported Voter Registration journey the EC is still pushing to embark on.
According to both Dr. Elizabeth Hughes of the United States Infectious disease Center and Prof. Manfred Breckenridge of Boston Medical Laboratories, the use of biometric devices is one of the means by which the virus is fast spreading.
The non-usage of biometric devices is one of the measures adopted by across the world upon the advice given by Dr. Elizabeth and Manfred.
At a time even advanced countries have kicked against the use of biometric devices, Ghana Electoral Commission is gearing up to deploy biometric machines to polling stations across the country to register people in it’s planned compilation of new register. The EC, especially it’s nonchalant head, Jean Mensah, must be told in the face that it cannot compile new voter registration in the midst of COVID-19.
The reason is very simple – the biometric machines the Commission will use for the fingerprint verification has been identified as one of the prime means by which the virus is spread. For instance, in a polling station of more than 500 people queuing to register, all of them must put their fingers on the biometric machine. We have a looming calamity at hand if this is allowed.
The EC has said that it has plans to provide hand sanitizers at the polling stations for use by both its staff and registrants.
It has also argued that the screens of the biometric devices will be cleaned regularly. It is truism that hand sanitizer is not a guarantee for killing the virus on the machine if it has a virus on it. More so, if sanitizers will be used on the screen after each registrant, the possibility of the lense weakening is very high.
This will lead to breakdown of the machines frequently and it’ll cause delays at the polling stations and also the EC may have to spend more money to procure more machines.
Companies who use to have biometric machines have stop using them so why would the EC venture into such dangerous arena?
Jean Mensa must be stopped before the EC become another source to spread the virus.
Let’s come together and resist the EC before they push all of us into a pit.
Let’s value our lives by resisting the Electoral Commission from becoming a new source of spreading this deadly virus.