The coalition for Democratic Accountability and Inclusive Governance has warned that the current hardship and widespread corruption in the country could degenerate into an existential threat to our democracy if measures are not put in place to improve the situation.
The coalition, also known as the Citizens’ Coalition said the worsening economic conditions of Ghanaians could encourage individuals or people who perceive no improvement in the current situation to “examine alternatives to a constitutional democracy that are appropriate, disruptive, and dictatorial, which none of us here will wish to happen”.
Alhaji Osman Abdul Rahman, the Executive Director of the Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA) and a Lead Convenor of the Coalition in the Northern Sector disclosed this in Tamale on Wednesday, September 7, at the launch of the coalition in Northern Ghana.
The GDCA and some 31 other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) including Norsaac, CALID-Ghana, Rise-Ghana, and the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) formed the coalition to fight the widespread governance and socioeconomic challenges the country is faced with.
Alhaji Osman said the rising cost of living, alongside the rapid hikes in fuel prices, growing youth unemployment, and the depreciation of the cedi against the major trading currencies have contributed to the worsening economic conditions of Ghanaians.
“I am not sure if there has been an intentional devaluation by Government), which significantly reduces most working people’s ability to purchase goods and services. The Cost of living has been on a steep rise alongside the rapid hikes in fuel prices all serving as contributing factors to the economic hardships that Ghanaians have experienced for a long while now,” he said.
He said despite these, the government is doing little to salvage the situation.
“Sadly, the government’s current actions lack the strength to significantly lessen these major problems. Our political leaders frequently cite the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia/Ukraine war as the causes of the current socioeconomic issues, which are seen as a global phenomenon,” he noted with concern.
Alhaji Osman said that even though the country has been hit hard by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, the country’s economic crisis was largely due to years of “senseless waste of funds without proper consideration for fiscal responsibility laws”.
“It is undeniable that the COVID-19 outbreak and the impacts of the Russia/Ukraine war have made our economic problems worse. But these two aspects are only the surface of the issues. The root causes of these issues stem from how successive administrations and the bureaucracy have handled the nation’s affairs and the economy in the past without engaging in any systematic planning,” he added.
Alhaji Osman stressed that “Our problems are made worse by the carelessness with which projects are carried out, by poorly planned public investment, and by the absence of any consistent and serious endeavor to promote local industrialization.
Our government spending is characterized by a senseless waste of funds without proper consideration for fiscal responsibility laws”.
He outlined five immediate demands of the coalition which he noted will help improve the situation.
Alhaji Osman said there was the need for government to address the corruption and needless waste of public resources, halt the implementation of the Agyapa Royalties Agreement, halt the sale of the Achimota Forest lands and other state lands, account for the Covid-19 funds, and pass the Affirmative Action Bill.
The Executive Director of Norsaac, Mr. Alhassan Mohammed Awal said the coalition was formed to mobilize citizens to speak up and push the government to fix the numerous challenges the country is faced with.
He said as citizens, Ghanaians must make sure their voices on issues affecting them, urging all to put their political party affiliations aside and put the country first.
Mr. Mohammed Awal said the coalition demands a country where decentralization is strong and power given back to the people and a country where the pivots of democracy benefit the masses and not a few powerful individuals.
The Director of advocacy and policy engagement at CDD-Ghana and lead convenor of the Coalition at the national level, Dr. Kojo P. Asante said the coalition wants an inclusive and diverse society where all Ghanaians are equal.
He said there was a need for Ghana to rethink its development structure to ensure development reaches the grassroots.
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Citizens' Coalition addressing the media