The appeal by the Minister of Information to actors in the Ghanaian political space to fashion out a mechanism to tackle issues of suspicion during election and the alarm raised by the Convention People’s Party on the imminent collapse of the Ghanaian economy are the leading stories in the Ghanaian press on Friday.
The Graphic reports that the Minister of Information, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has urged actors in the Ghanaian political space to fashion out a mechanism to tackle issues of suspicion during election.
He said suspicion around election processes triggered huge mistrust among political actors and could serve as a basis of violence if not curtailed.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Ofoase-Ayirebi in the Eastern Region, was speaking at a three-day National Stakeholders Dialogue on countering “Post-2020 Election Violence and Building Consensus for Greater Political Tolerance in Ghana” held at Ada.
The dialogue was organised by the National Peace Council with support from the Commonwealth Secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
He urged the participants, to among other recommendations, come out with proposals that would deal with the phenomenon of suspicion around electoral processes.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah bemoaned the situation where some unscrupulous persons used the very important electoral processes to achieve infamy.
The newspaper says that the Convention People’s Party (CPP), has called for an honest assessment of Ghana’s state of affairs, sounding the alarm at what it says is the imminent collapse of the economy.
In a statement issued Thursday, July 1, 2021, the Chairperson and Leader of the CPP, Nana Akosua Frimpomaa Sarpong Kumankuma, said the commanding heights of Ghana’s economy are in the hands of foreigners whilst indigenous Ghanaians do the menial jobs, wondering how anyone practices capitalism when the one has no capital.
“Our citizenry are not informed enough about the implications of policies proposed by parties beyond campaign talking points. It is time to bring Ghanaians back to the table. CPP is proposing a series of public debates, fueled only by facts and evidence, to discuss our trajectory and the policies and decisions that have real consequences in the lives of Ghanaians.”
Arguing for an active state control of “the commanding heights of the economy”, as did the CPP government of Dr Kwame Nkrumah which saw to the launch of the celebrated 7-year development plan in 1963 and led to the establishment of “almost all the legacy projects in Ghana today, from the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Ghana State Farms Corporation, Akosombo Dam, GIHOC Industries, Ghana State Housing Corporation, State Construction Corporation etc, all in 3yrs, before the coup”, she said an honest assessment of the state of affairs and debate of our path forward with experts, policy makers and politicians will be one sure way to address the challenges.
“Petty debates about what Nkrumah did or did not do, without acknowledging the failures of the current economic system to meet the needs of Ghana is the last thing we need. What is of merit however, is a discussion about the fundamental guiding principles of this country.
“Our development has been staggered because our economic and social policies are not cohesive. It is time to move our political debates away from partisan and personalistic based discussions to programmatic evaluations of the vision we hold for Ghana and the best path to achieve that vision to blame the CPP and President Kwame Nkrumah for the collapse of the Ghanaian economy, or a lack of vision therefore is a clear misunderstanding of their reality.”
The CPP would like to sound an alarm on the imminent collapse of the Ghanaian economy.
The Graphic also reports that the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has called on security agencies in the country to step up their games in providing safety to the citizenry.
The NCCE also advised them to exhibit a high standard of professionalism in their operations.
The call follows the clash between security agencies and irate youth at Ejura in the Ashanti region which resulted in the death of two (2) persons and others injured.
The NCCE added that elements within the law enforcement agencies must not be seen or perceived to be impediments to the thriving democracy of Ghana.
“The NCCE also expressed concern about the recurrence of brutalities by the security agencies which is an affront to the country’s democratic credentials. Incidents of this nature, wherever they occur in this country negates our efforts to consolidate our democracy,” NCCE stated in a presser release signed by the Chair of the commission, Ms. Josephine Nkrumah on Wednesday, June 30, 2021.
The Commission called on the security agencies not to redefine violent extremism by their own acts but must enforce law and order with acceptable professional standards.
“Our law enforcement agencies are to maintain law and order and protect the citizenry. Unfortunately, growing public perception about their role is eroding confidence in these agencies. The illegality or otherwise of citizens’ protest should not lead to unjustified and unwarranted use of force against unarmed citizens of Ghana.”
The Commission called for an in-depth investigation into the matter and entreats the Heads of law enforcement agencies particularly the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Army, whose officers are alleged to have committed this dastardly act, to take swift action against the perpetrators in the Ejura incident.
The Times says that a Development Archaeologist and Heritage Expert at the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Ghana, Professor Wazi Apoh, has expressed the need for the country’s museums and monuments to be given greater development attention.
He said these facilities played vital role in reviving and accelerating the development of the economy, therefore, conscious effort must be made to ensure that they were well developed.
Professor Apoh, who said this during the re-opening of the refurbished Volta Regional Museum, also said that the indigenous economy would flourish if these facilities were properly maintained.
He said the fact that most of our museums were dead or not functioning well, meant that the local economy was suffering, and that the country stood the chance to gain a lot of foreign exchange, if these facilities were beautifully kept as places of attraction.
The Archaeologist said the Ministry of Tourism during the Year of Return gained millions of dollars and that was good in enhancing the growth of the economy, thus the need to develop the country’s heritage sites.
Professor Apoh said the less attention given to the museum industry was not helpful in the “socio-economic development of the grassroots and it is about time we change that dynamics.”
GIK/APA