• The highest among them being Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin
• Concerns range from housing, media rights, lack of health infrastructure and calls for good governance
In a bid to demand better living standards for Ghanaians, some politicians who seem to have had enough of the ‘faulty Ghanaian systems’ have backed calls to fix Ghana with immediate effect.
While some shared their opinions on what needs to be done, others took to social media to painfully recount instances where the poor systems have resulted in costly even deadly outcomes.
Wading into such discussions with the spotlight on the #Fixthecountry agenda, the likes of Sam George, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Hassan Ayariga and Alban Bagbin have asked the state to make a conscious effort at fixing some major areas including; Ghana’s damaged health sector, the incessant attacks on journalists, and the abandoned state housing projects among others.
Lets take a look at some concerns raised by these four politicians below:
Sam George tackles the ‘No bed syndrome’ issue
For the Ningo Prampram MP, the story of how himself and his colleague, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa could not save a dying 12-year-old has become a clarion call for government to wake up and tackle the country’s poor health systems, particularly the lack of beds at government hospitals.
An angry Sam George took to social media over the weekend to vent his frustrations on how hospitals looked on helplessly as a poor child died due to lack of infrastructure.
“Calls were made to Korle Bu Teaching Hospital but they refused to accept the child that there was no bed. Calls were made to 37 Military Hospital and they agreed to take the child. This was about 3pm. Then the next hurdle began.
"The National Ambulance Service was called to transport the child. Getting the Service was another issue entirely.
"After getting the service, they insisted that they cannot move the child until they got the heir own independent confirmation from 37 Military Hospital. For well over 5 hours, they could not get anyone from 37 to confirm,” those were some of his words whiles recounting the sad ordeal.
Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on the recent attacks on journalists
To him, the ‘wild’ and constant attacks on journalists in recent times exposes the country’s lack of respect for human rights and the abuse of power.
The North Tongu MP described as outmoded and unsophisticated the methods by which the security agencies particularly the National Security go about their operations these days.
His comments were in reaction to the attack on two Ghanaian journalists; Caleb Kudah and Zoe Abu Baidoo who were arrested by the National Security for filming a restricted security area at their premises.
"The Citi FM Gestapo raid has not only exposed the growing intolerance, dwindling respect for human rights and wanton abuse of power by government officials; it has also brought to the fore the lack of sophistication and the continuous preference for ‘buga buga’ outmoded security tactics.
"Ghana’s national security counterparts in other jurisdictions have invested and developed the cybersecurity capacity to remotely block, hack, impede or prevent any information considered injurious to national security from being circulated in cyberspace.
"They have also fashioned the appropriate legal framework to carry out this task lawfully. Those Governments do not have to literally chase helpless female journalists with gun-wielding agents all over the place.
"National security should stop embarrassing us to the international community and even more worrying, they must stop exposing their pathetic cybersecurity vulnerabilities to criminals and potential enemies of Ghana, for as the experts have warned, the next frontier of war is cyberwarfare,” he wrote on Facebook.
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin on #FixTheCountry campaign
Mr. Bagbin commended young activists for their forcefulness and drive at demanding for change in their livelihoods. Unlike other politicians, he has boldly and publicly thrown in his support towards the #FixTheCountry campaign.
To him, majority of the concerns raised by the activists have been in existence since independence and as such should be tackled without hesitation.
"It is obvious that the majority of the concerns expressed by the Fix Ghana Movement have existed since our independence. However, it is also true that these challenges have become more pronounced in today’s Ghana.
"We can only tackle these challenges with a renewed commitment to the faith that we all profess to, be it Christianity, Islam or Traditional Religion. We can fix this country by reviewing our economic management paradigm that seems to over focus on borrowing.
"We need to interrogate the relevance of our educational system and make it more responsive to the demands of today. We must relook at the conduct of our politics and religion, and the extent to which they feed into, or detract from our national aspirations," he established in a statement.
Hassa Ayariga angry over abandoned ‘Saglemi Housing’ project
He has been one of the major voices advocating for a better housing system for Ghanaians with the main focus on the Saglemi housing project.
The APC flagbearer has on countless occasions pondered over government’s refusal to make the project accessible at a time several Ghanaians are struggling with accommodation.
It can be recalled that in a recent post to vent on the same issue, Mr. Ayariga wrote;
“Ghanaians who are ready, I am giving the government one month to work on this, if not Ghanaians should move and come and start living in these homes. Just move and come occupy this place. This is sad. This cannot be acceptable. Windows hitting and breaking every second.
"Look at the roads in the community. If not for Africa will a sensible human being build this and throw it away, if it’s your own resources? This cannot happen in a country where millions of workers are struggling for accommodation, irrespective of the party they belong to.
"This is not a political party project. This is a government of Ghana project, and we cannot allow it to rot, no matter the circumstances surrounding it. It does not make sense for anybody to leave such a project abandoned for years,” he lamented.
Sam George, Hassan Ayariga and Okudzeto Ablakwa are seeking for some major issues to be addressed