Did EC’s rebranding cost $500,000? - NPP asks

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) is requesting the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana to come clean on the cost of its rebranding exercise. The commission has redesigned its logo as part of the rebranding exercise, and the NPP believes Ghanaians deserve to know how much has gone into the whole exercise. The Chairperson of the EC, Mrs Charlotte Osei, at the launch of the election management body’s five-year New Strategic Plan at the Best Western Premier Hotel in Accra Tuesday April 26, said the commission’s new emblem “is our logo, we liked it, we picked it, it makes us happy, and it reminds us of all the values that we want to bring into our work and where we are going as a commission”.

According to her, the unveiling of the logo was part of a holistic rebranding exercise. At the launch of the rebranding exercise, Mrs Osei was asked how much was being sunk into the rebranding, but she said she could not tell until she had spoken to the financial department.

The NPP has criticised the rebranding as a misplaced priority, saying with about six months to the polls, the EC was better off focusing its attention and resources on cleaning the 2012 register of voters rather than indulging in a rebranding exercise.

 Deputy Communications Director of the NPP, Mike Ocquaye Junior, in an interview with Emefa Apawu on Class FM’s 505 news programme on Tuesday April 26, said: “We heard it cost $500,000, for example. Isn’t it money that can be used for the elections? If that is the case, we think it is a misplaced priority.”

 He could not see why the EC had failed to implement the recommendation of the panel set up to investigate certain matters relating to the voter roll. “…But they are telling us about a logo and explaining its related issues. In my humble opinion, we disagree because it is not an important issue towards the election,” he stated.