Veep urges those over 18 to register

Spread. Mon. March 10/08

Story: Joe Okyere & Charles Benoni Okine, Cape Coast
VICE-President Aliu Mahama has called on Ghanaians who have attained the voting age of 18 to endeavour to register when the registration exercise begins in May.
Consequently, he has called on parents and teachers to ensure that the youth register during the period to enable them to exercise their franchise in what he described as the “crucial” general election in December 2008.
Alhaji Mahama, who gave the advice at the 98th Speech and Prize-giving Day of Adisadel College in Cape Coast in the Central Region at the weekend, said the youth had a stake in determining who ruled, saying, “You must learn to be responsible, exercise your civic rights wisely and vote for progress.”
The voters register will be re-opened between May 8 and 17, 2008 and, according to the Electoral Commission (EC), about one million more Ghanaians are expected to be registered under the exercise.
The Vice-President also entreated the youth to enhance their talents and contribute to the growth of the country.
“To be able to do this well, you must be disciplined, you must cultivate habits that leave you in good health, with the moral courage, zeal and dedication to face new challenges,” he added.
Alhaji Mahama said acts of indiscipline, such as drug abuse, robbery, examination malpractice, truancy, rioting, organising sexual escapades and destruction of public property, were anti-social behaviour that made the youth a liability and not an asset to themselves and society.
“Sobriety, self-restraint, respect and hard work count a lot in life, for they are the touchstones of civility and good breeding,” he admonished.
The Vice-President, who was accompanied by the Central Regional Minister, Nana Ato Arthur, therefore, urged the youth to refrain from over-indulgence and avoid words and actions that not only stunted their normal and spiritual development but were also inimical to their own interest and that of the country at large.
“You may score all the distinctions in your examinations but if you fail to score similar grades in the world, life is likely to be less meaningful and satisfying to you and those who look up to you for leadership and subsistence in society,” he said.
He commended the school for its achievements and the quality of leaders it had churned out for the country and expressed the hope that the country would be able to rely on it for more of such leaders.
Earlier, before his address, the Vice-President had inaugurated a four-storey 16-classroom block to accommodate fourth-year students of the school as per the demand under the new educational reform.
Alhaji Mahama also inaugurated a cold store, together with a standby generator donated to the school by the 1983 year group.
In his report, the Headmaster, Mr Herbert Krufi Graham, said the school continued to chalk up academic and sporting laurels as a result of the adherence to strict disciplinary measures enforced on campus.
He called on the GETFund to support the school with an additional dormitory to accommodate fourth-year students, since none of the students was a day student.