Government to print ballot papers locally for future elections
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Government to print ballot papers locally for future elections if the state printer acquires advanced and high-performing machines
Government to print ballot papers locally for future elections if the state printer acquires advanced and high-performing machines.
If preparations to convert the Government Press are successful, the government will eventually be able to print ballots locally, a task team was informed.
The Taskforce on Modernisation and Transformation of the Government Press heard on Friday the country could print ballots if the state printer acquires advanced and high-performing machines.
The task force’s members were informed by Government Press CEO Abdi Ali Hassan that they still use equipment that was purchased in 1920.
“Once we modernise and ensure our machines are highly efficient, we will be able to print ballot papers for our elections. We can also print ballot papers for other countries in the region,” Hassan said.
He said his staff establishment of 450 people is highly trained and up to the task.
“I was in Greece and saw the machines. It is something that we can acquire and save this country a lot of money,” Hassan said.
In the last elections, ballot papers were printed in Athens, Greece, with a backup press being set up in Romania in case the primary press encountered unexpected difficulties.
More than 200 million papers were delivered by Inform Lykos, which won the $3 billion contract.
Numerous polls in the past have recommended local printing of ballot papers to reduce the cost of elections, but political players have consistently rejected it.
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The country’s officials have been rejecting the idea, claiming that they couldn’t trust anyone to print the ballots.
Narendra Raval, the task force’s head, stated on Friday that his group will consider recommending public-private partnerships to help the Government Press overcome its financial challenges.
“We will not rest. We will make sure the Government Press is where it ought to be,” Raval said after a tour of the entity.
Since its establishment in 1895, there have been various unsuccessful attempts by the various administrations to modernise and transform Government Press.
Government Press is the designated printing press for production, standardisation, dissemination, cataloguing, authenticating and preserving various public documents for the national and county administrations, Parliament, Judiciary, parastatals and Semi-Autonomous Government Agencies.
President William Ruto appointed the task force to recommend measures to transform Government Press into an efficient and highly-performing entity.
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