We spent $68 million, not $150 million, on new biometric devices in 2020 - EC clarifies

The Electoral Commission of Ghana has issued a statement to address misinformation circulating regarding the procurement of Biometric Verification Devices (BVDs) and Biometric Voters Registration Kits (BVRs) in 2020.

According to the Commission, the procurement process dates back to June 2018 when the previous administration budgeted and received approval to invest US$56 million for the refurbishment of BVDs and BVRs, along with a Data Centre and Security enhancements.

In 2020, based on experiences with equipment during the 2019 District Level Elections (DLE), the Commission sought approval to acquire new BVDs, BVRs, a Data Centre, and a Data Recovery Centre.

The Commission disclosed that it saved Ghana US$57,918,270 by purchasing 74,500 new BVDs and 8,500 new BVRs at a lower cost compared to the previous administration’s planned refurbishments

Additionally, the current administration spent US$6,161,869.69 for a new data centre and recovery centre, saving US$9 million compared to the previous earmarked budget.

Fred Tetteh, Deputy Director of Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation, emphasized that the Commission urges the public to ignore claims of US$150 million spent on BVDs and BVRs in 2020

According to him, the total cost for new equipment, including BVDs, BVRs, data centres, and recovery centres, amounted to US$68,661,912.67.