Political Scientist, Prof. Ransford Gyampo has admonished Ghanaians to abstain from the political practice that allows Ghanaian politicians an opportunity to ‘sing praises’ of their achievements. He declared that citizens should be the ones to point to these achievements based on how impactful these achievements are on their lives.
He argued that achievers do not talk about their successes where there have been proper achievements. He also opined citizens attesting to the achievements of governments is proof of good governance and a progressive society.
“So when developmental outcomes are tangibly reflected in the lives of the people, you don’t go about touting, I’ve done this, I’ve done that. Which one do you prefer? The one that the politician is telling you that he has done and the one the people themselves are saying that we know”.
Prof. Ransford Gyampo
Commenting on the efficacy of the 1992 Constitution to the contemporary Ghanaian political sphere, Prof. Gyampo indicated that the 1992 Constitution was not molded to promote constitutionalism due to the circumstances that necessitated its adoption.
He argued that 1992 does not promote constitutionalism as it grants unlimited power to the Executive arm of government. He also indicated that it is problematic for the President, H.E Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to have stated that the 1992 Constitution has well served Ghanaians.
“Because there is a problem of power discontinuity of projects of predecessor governments, we have abandoned the project [constitutional review] and now we are talking about the constitution has served us well…anybody who exits power sees the flaws in the constitution but if you are in power because it gives you all the powers then you want to behave like all is well; all is not well”.
Prof. Ransford Gyampo
Remarking on the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), the Political Scientist further indicated that the President’s address is an act of constitutional obligation that he met. He noted that the President’s demeanor was that of remorse and acceptance of responsibility for Ghana’s economic challenges.
Unemployment and Insurgency
Moreover, Prof. Gyampo specified that it is however unfortunate that the President failed to address some issues of importance such as corruption and youth unemployment. He pointed out that youth employment and the participation of the youth in governance and decision-making is a counter-insurgency strategy that the President failed to appreciate.
He further argued that the inability of the government to take advantage of this counter-insurgency strategy would turn the country into a volatile nation vulnerable to insurgency and violence. “It is only when young people are gainfully employed that you can be assured that they wouldn’t be rowdy or wayward or cannot be mobilized to torpedo the existing system” he stated.
Accordingly, he asserted that the number of youth currently in employment is appallingly lower than those who are unemployed. He indicated that most of the employed youth include people whose work can be categorized as underemployment and others who are peasant farmers.
“When people are jobless, they become easily mobilized and manipulated to be used as agents to foment violent conflict. So it is up to you and I [the elites in society] to keep on fighting for the government to do more to bring about youth employment so that our young people will be actively engaged”.
Prof. Ransford Gyampo
More so, Prof. Ransford Gyampo stated that the President’s failure to talk about the environmental issues is regrettable. He indicated that even though the President could not have covered every issue during his address, the President should have at least given some time to illegal mining and other activities that are harmful to the environment.
Furthermore, the Political Scientist noted that the President, H.E Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, enjoyed unparalleled goodwill from the people of Ghana which no other President ever had. He indicated that the President in his seven years of office has massively dissipated the goodwill Ghanaians granted him. He also noted that there is a level of bipartisan disappointment among Ghanaians in the President.
Conclusively, while the public debate on whether or not the current NPP administration has done well enough to be retained in office after the 2024 General Elections continues, Ghanaians can only wait for December 7th to pass their judgments.
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