In the wake of former President John Dramani Mahama’s recent call for Ghana’s political elites to embrace accountability and change, Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh, Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), has issued a clarion call for urgent reforms to safeguard the country’s democracy.
Professor Prempeh’s remarks highlight the critical juncture at which Ghana’s political landscape stands, as well as the growing disillusionment among the citizenry with the state of governance.
He commended the National Democratic Congress Presidential Candidate, former President John Dramani Mahama for recognizing and acknowledging the fragility of Ghana’s democracy.
“It’s good to hear a main party candidate finally recognize and admit that our democracy is at risk of losing the people; that ‘business as usual’ will not do anymore; and that we have reached a political tipping point in terms of the governance of this country”.
Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh, Executive Director of Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana)
However, Professor Prempeh was quick to point out that the call for change is not new to Ghanaian politics.
According to him, almost every election since 2000 has been fought on the promise of change, yet the reality has often been more continuity than transformation.
“Unfortunately for us, time and time again, we have been served more continuity than change. What change gets delivered, turnover after turnover, is little more than a change in the faces and material fortunes of the political insiders and their friends and families”.
Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh, Executive Director of Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana)
Failure of Successive Governments
The core of Professor Prempeh’s critique lies in the failure of successive governments to implement meaningful reforms that would fundamentally alter the governance of the country.
He underscored the need for an urgent shift in how Ghana’s resources are managed and for whose benefit.
“The change we have yet to get is a change in how and for whose benefit this country and its resources are governed and managed! That is the change we badly need,” he asserted.
The Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh also challenged former President John Dramani Mahama and other political contenders to go beyond mere rhetoric and outline concrete plans for how they intend to address the deep-seated issues in Ghana’s governance structure.
He urged them to present credible proposals for changing the rules of the political game and the structure of incentives that currently reward bad governance, lamenting the lack of progress and development under the country’s democratic governance.
“The political classes and their elite allies have taken our democracy and the people for granted for too long. We need governance that puts the country and the people, not party or self, first. And we need it soonest!”
Professor H. Kwesi Prempeh, Executive Director of Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana)
As Ghana approaches another election cycle, Professor Prempeh’s call for action serves as a critical reminder of the urgent need for reforms that can restore faith in the country’s democratic institutions.
His remarks underscore the importance of not only recognizing the challenges facing Ghana’s democracy but also taking decisive steps to address them before they undermine the very foundations of the nation’s democratic project.
The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), former President John Dramani Mahama, in an earlier caution, called on Ghana’s political elites to embrace accountability and change.
According to him, if the country’s democracy is to survive, drastic changes are necessary, underscoring the critical need for the next National Democratic Congress’s administration to do things differently and not continue with the status quo.
He cautioned that if a new government comes to power and repeats the mistakes of the current administration, the consequences could be severe.
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