The Ministry says parents should be allowed to register any name they wish to give their children. The intervention follows growing public outcry after the registry said names such as Naa, Nana, Nii and Junior among others would not be registered.

The Local Government Minister, Hajia Alima Mahama, who gave the directive, made it known in Parliament today [Tuesday] January 30, 2018.

[contextly_sidebar id=”wjJ2V2hswTVfCDg6MtYRN7Mh9ql2uSTH”]She said the new directive has become necessary following the huge public outcry.

“Mr. Speaker, considering that the SOP serves as an operational guideline for the registration of births and deaths, coupled with the sentiments expressed by the public, the acting registrar of births and deaths registry has been directed to review the SOP and further directed that names such as Nana, Nii, Papa and so on as given by the parents should be accepted for registration.”

She advised the Registry to instead, be concerned about official titles “such as reverend, doctor, Mr., Miss, honourable and so on” while her outfit works on bringing to Parliament a bill on Births and Deaths regulation.

“The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development will very soon bring a bill to Parliament on registration of births and deaths, which will address some of these controversies, and to reflect and accommodate present trends and societal developments,” Alima Mahama told Parliament.

Background

The Births and Deaths Registry’s decision has been widely criticized by Ghanaians, including Legal Practitioner, Ace Ankomah, who has described the move to blacklist names such as Nana, Paapa, Nii, Junior among others as illegal.

The Registrar at the Births and Deaths Registry, John Yao Agbeko, however justified the action, saying the law governing the Registry’s operations – Act 301 (1965), gives them the power to do so adding that such names are considered title names.

“There is a law that regulates the activities of the Births and Deaths registry, that law is the Births and Deaths Registration Act 301 of 1965. In this Act, we have a function for the Minister to do a regulation. In the regulation, there is a function for the Registrar to come out with a mode of operation…So even though you will not read it in the Act, the regulation allows the registrar to come out with the mode of operation to manage the place, and that is what we have done. That is why if you go to Tamale, the one over there will tell you that you cannot register that name. If you pick that same name and you run to Accra, in order to do same, you will be told you can’t do it,” he explained.

But Ace Ankomah pointed out that what the Registry was doing “is not in the law, and it is also not in the regulation that was supposed to have been made under the 1965 Act.”

Occupy Ghana petitions AG over blacklisted names by Births and Deaths

Pressure Group, Occupy Ghana, has written to the Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo, to complain about the Births & Deaths Registry’s action.

Occupy Ghana in the letter argued that, the Registry’s action has no basis in law, and charged the Attorney General to take steps to address the issue since it is a gross violation of the rights of Ghanaians.

“We have however checked that Act and all relevant laws including the Regulations passed under the Act. We have not seen any provision that either supports this policy or gives the Registrars of Births and Deaths any power to refuse to register any name. We believe that this stance is a gross violation of the rights of Ghanaians to choose names (particularly Ghanaian names) as they deem fit for their children, subject to the right to change one’s name at any time later in life,” the letter said.

Occupy Ghana in the letter, which was also copied to the Local Government Minister, called on the Attorney General to order the Registry to stop such acts, else they will proceed to court within the next 30 days.

Speaker summons Minister, Births Registry over ban on ‘title names’

The Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, subsequently summoned the Local Government Minister and the management of the Births and Deaths Registry over the issue.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post Register Nii, Nana, other names – Minister orders Births Registry appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Persons who wish to register names such as Nana, Naa, Junior among others, have been turned away in recent times by the Births and Deaths Registry with a reason that such names are considered as titles.

[contextly_sidebar id=”bxuZxNht51C1ZRv7uu1J2Mg3HNTD9OiR”]The Ministry was summoned after the Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, put forward a request, while questioning the Births and Deaths Registry’s power to issue and apply such directives.

Making his case before the House, Mr. Iddrisu said: “I have with me here, the Daily Heritage newspaper with a caption headline, Ghanaians angry over ban on names such as Nana, Nii, Maame, Junior…I am raising this so that this house will summon the Minister for Local Government and the management of the Births and Deaths Registry to explain to this House where the source of their power is.”

‘Blacklisting names illegal’

The Births and Deaths Registry’s decision has been widely criticized by Ghanaians, including Legal Practitioner, Ace Ankomah who has described the move as illegal.

The Registrar at the Births and Deaths Registry, John Yao Agbeko, however justified the action, saying the law governing the Registry’s operations – Act 301 (1965), gives them the power to do so.

“There is a law that regulates the activities of the Births and Deaths registry, that law is the Births and Deaths Registration Act 301 of 1965. In this Act, we have a function for the Minister to do a regulation. In the regulation, there is a function for the Registrar to come out with a mode of operation.”

“…So even though you will not read it in the Act, the regulation allows the registrar to come out with the mode of operation to manage the place, and that is what we have done. That is why if you go to Tamale, the one over there will tell you that you cannot register that name. If you pick that same name and you run to Accra, in order to do same, you will be told you can’t do it,” he explained on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday.

But Ace Ankomah pointed out that what the Registry was doing “is not in the law, and it is also not in the regulation that was supposed to have been made under the 1965 Act.”

Occupy Ghana petitions AG over blacklisted names by Births and Deaths

Pressure Group, Occupy Ghana, has written to the Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo, to complain about the Births & Deaths Registry’s action.

Occupy Ghana in the letter argued that, the Registry’s action has no basis in law, and charged the Attorney General to take steps to address the issue since it is a gross violation of the rights of Ghanaians.

“We have however checked that Act and all relevant laws including the Regulations passed under the Act. We have not seen any provision that either supports this policy or gives the Registrars of Births and Deaths any power to refuse to register any name. We believe that this stance is a gross violation of the rights of Ghanaians to choose names (particularly Ghanaian names) as they deem fit for their children, subject to the right to change one’s name at any time later in life,” the letter said.

Occupy Ghana in the letter, which was also copied to the Local Government Minister, called on the Attorney General to order the Registry to stop such acts, else they will proceed to court within the next 30 days.

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By: Marian Ansah & Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post Speaker summons Minister, Births Registry over ban on ‘title names’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Occupy Ghana in the letter argued that, the Registry’s action has no basis in law, and charged the Attorney General to take steps to address the issue since it is a gross violation of the rights of Ghanaians.

“We have however checked that Act and all relevant laws including the Regulations passed under the Act. We have not seen any provision that either supports this policy or gives the Registrars of Births and Deaths any power to refuse to register any name. We believe that this stance is a gross violation of the rights of Ghanaians to choose names (particularly Ghanaian names) as they deem fit for their children, subject to the right to change one’s name at any time later in life,” the letter said.

[contextly_sidebar id=”tAiRrm495jbTqeYMfYXkp6Kzb6jfq6Hy”]Occupy Ghana in the letter, which was also copied to the Local Government Minister, called on the Attorney General to order the Registry to stop such acts, else they will proceed to court within the next 30 days.

“We therefore write to put you on notice, in accordance with section 10 of the State Proceedings Act, 1998 (Act 555), that we intend to commence civil action against the Republic within thirty (30) days of the date of this letter if this illegality is not addressed forthwith,” the letter read.

Background

Persons who wish to register names such as Nana, Naa, Junior and the likes were turned away by the Births and Deaths Registry with a reason that such names are  considered as titles and not names.

The Registrar at the Births and Deaths Registry, John Yao Agbeko, justified the action saying the law governing the Registry’s operations – Act 301 (1965) – gives them the power to undertake such exercise.

“There is a law that regulates the activities of the Births and Deaths registry, that law is the Births and Deaths Registration Act 301 of 1965. In this act we have a function for the Minister to do a regulation. In the regulation, there is a function for the registrar to come out with a mode of operation.”

“So even though you will not read it in the act, the regulation allows the registrar to come out with the mode of operation to manage the place and that is what we have done. That is why if you go to Tamale, the one over there will tell you that you cannot register that name. If you pick that same name and you run to Accra, in order to do same, you will be told you can’t do it,” he explained on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday.

Blacklisting ‘title’ names illegal – Ace Ankomah fumes

A private legal practitioner, and member of Occupy Ghana, Ace Ankomah, had earlier described as illegal the Births and Deaths Registry’s blacklisting of certain names.

Sharing his view on the matter on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, Ace Ankomah said what the Registry is doing “is not in the law, and it is also not in the regulation that was supposed to have been made under the 1965 Act.”

This nonsense must stop!

“What the law says is that, they should have a mode of operation. The Births and Deaths Registry has no power to make law. Having a mode of operation must comply with the law. So if the fundamental law does not give you a certain power, you cannot be claiming that you have written your own mode of operation to make that power to yourself. So it does not exist, it has no legal basis, that nonsense must stop,” he fumed.

Below is the full statement from Occupy Ghana:

The Attorney-General & Minister for Justice

Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General’s Department

Accra

Dear Madam,

REFUSAL TO REGISTER NAMES AT THE BIRTHS AND DEATHS REGISTRY – NOTICE OF ACTION

Our attention has been drawn to the implementation of an alleged policy by the Registrars of the Birth and Death Registry that refuses to register the birth of children whose names include names such as “Maame,” “Pappa,” “Nana,” “Naa,” “Junior,” “Nene,” “Nii” and “Ohemaa” as well as determine the order in which names must be written, giving prominence to foreign names over indigeneous Ghanaian names. The Registrars claim that they are empowered to do this on the basis of the Registration of Birth and Death Act, 1965 (Act 301).

We have however checked that Act and all relevant laws including the Regulations passed under the Act. We have not seen any provision that either supports this policy or gives the Registrars of Births and Deaths any power to refuse to register any name. We believe that this stance is a gross violation of the rights of Ghanaians to choose names (particularly Ghanaian names) as they deem fit for their children, subject to the right to change one’s name at any time later in life.

We therefore write to put you on notice, in accordance with section 10 of the State Proceedings Act, 1998 (Act 555), that we intend to commence civil action against the Republic within thirty (30) days of the date of this letter if this illegality is not addressed forthwith.

We however believe that this cause of action will not be necessary if all Registrars of the Births and Deaths Registry will be directed to desist from these acts and stop refusing to register such names as they have no basis in law.

Yours faithfully,

OccupyGhana®

1.      The Minister

Ministry of Local Government

Accra

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Occupy Ghana petitions AG over blacklisted names by Births and Deaths appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Persons who wish to register names such as Nana, Naa, Junior among others, have been turned away in recent times by the Births and Deaths Registry with a reason that such names are considered as titles.

The Registrar at the Births and Deaths Registry, John Yao Agbeko, justified the action saying the law governing the Registry’s operations – Act 301 (1965), gives them the power to do so.

[contextly_sidebar id=”LGy62IJNXbUG4za2QgDBj9E0dNd4tjkh”]“There is a law that regulates the activities of the Births and Deaths registry, that law is the Births and Deaths Registration Act 301 of 1965. In this Act, we have a function for the Minister to do a regulation. In the regulation, there is a function for the Registrar to come out with a mode of operation.”

“…So even though you will not read it in the Act, the regulation allows the registrar to come out with the mode of operation to manage the place, and that is what we have done. That is why if you go to Tamale, the one over there will tell you that you cannot register that name. If you pick that same name and you run to Accra, in order to do same, you will be told you can’t do it,” he explained on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday.

But in Ace Ankomah’s view, what the Registry is doing “is not in the law, and it is also not in the regulation that was supposed to have been made under the 1965 Act.”

Also sharing his opinion on the issue on the Citi Breakfast Show, Ace Ankomah insisted that the Registry has no right to do that, and  instead that they are breaching the law.

This nonsense must stop!

“What the law says is that, they should have a mode of operation. The Births and Deaths Registry has no power to make law. Having a mode of operation must comply with the law. So if the fundamental law does not give you a certain power, you cannot be claiming that you have written your own mode of operation to make that power to yourself. So it does not exist, it has no legal basis, that nonsense must stop,” he fumed.

AG petitioned 

The legal practitioner also said he has petitioned the Attorney General’s department over the matter, and threatened to head to court if persuasion fails.

“It is backward. It didn’t exist at least in 1990 when I registered my children. This is a recent thing they’ve started. We’ve written to the Attorney General to tell them to stop this. If they don’t, this matter will be going to court. There is no legal basis for that,” he added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Blacklisting ‘title’ names illegal – Ace Ankomah fumes appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the Registrar at the Births and Deaths Registry, John Yao Agbeko, these are considered as titles, adding that the law governing their processes – Act 301 passed in 1965, gives them the power to ban such names should the need arise.

“There is a law that regulates the activities of the Births and Deaths registry, that law is the Births and Deaths Registration Act 301 of 1965. In this Act, we have a function for the Minister to do a regulation. In the regulation, there is a function for the registrar to come out with a mode of operation.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”Sn2waKuFcusT1D76x3OEsOtujztKkIOY”]“So even though you will not read it in the Act, the regulation allows the Registrar to come out with the mode of operation to manage the place, and that is what we have done. That is why if you go to Tamale, the one over there will tell you that you cannot register that name. If you pick that same name and you run to Accra, in order to do same, you will be told you can’t do it,” he explained on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday.

Although Ghanaians have been encouraged to give their children indigenous names, the registry has refused to register names like Torgbui, Nii, Maame etc that come up for registration.

Some people who had wanted to register such names had complained to Citi News that their requests were shot down despite convincing explanations.

Law being reviewed

Mr. Agbeko however said his outfit is overwhelmed with such requests, adding that in view of this, the 1965 law is being reviewed to provide standard naming practices for the country.

“It is a challenging situation for me, people came here with similar complaints.”

He noted that the reviewed law is currently at the Attorney-General’s Department awaiting finalization.

“The law is now being reviewed, currently it is at the Attorney-General’s Department, they are looking at it. In 2016, we got almost to the stage where it was going to Parliament for approval but it came late in the year.”

He said the amendment will prevent people from using “those names or nouns that will come as prefix or a suffix.”

“And it [the amended law under consideration] is saying that the registrar would have to publish this for everybody to know and as time goes on, because we are a dynamic society, if we realize that those things that we published they cannot be used, we go back and we take them out, then we move on,” Mr. Agbeko added.

Births and Deaths Registry breaching law; this nonsense must stop

Also speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on the same issue, a private legal practitioner, Ace Ankomah, argued that the registry is breaching the law.

“It is not in the law…and it is also not in the regulation that was supposed to have been made under the 1965 Act.”

According to him, although the law makes provision for a written mode of operation, it cannot be in contravention of the main law.

“What the law says is that, they should have a mode of operation. The Births and Deaths Registry has no power to make law. Having a mode of operation must comply with the law. So if the fundamental law does not give you a certain power, you cannot be claiming that you have written your own mode of operation to make that power to yourself. So it does not exist, it has no legal basis, that nonsense must stop,” he fumed.

Click below for John Yao Agbeko’s interview on the Citi Breakfast Show:

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Births & deaths registry justifies blacklisting names like Nana, Junior [Audio] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.