Disband All Vigilante Groups In Ghana

NEWS COMMENTARY BACKS CALLS TO DISBAND ALL VIGILANTE GROUPS ACROSS THE COUNTRY
As a democratic country, Ghanaians expect the holding of regular free and fair elections. Inviting observers from international organizations such as ECOWAS, AU, UN and their local counterparts to publicly monitor, assess and produce report on the election results, have largely helped to enhance transparency of Ghana’s polls. All these electoral activities help to entrench democracy as the foundation for national and regional security, development and integration. Sometimes, election, seen as one of the pillars of democracy is abused by some powerful elites when they get the opportunity to govern. They exploit the vulnerability of the youth, commit crimes, engage in electoral violence and go scot-free. The condemnation that followed the violence in La Bawaleshie during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election has been loud and clear. There have been some videos showing how reportedly some electorates were beaten, stoned and shot at by armed men. What is worrying is the confusion surrounding the identity of the armed men with allegations suggesting their association with the NPP as National Security Personnel. The Police were reportedly not speared. According to CODEO, a police officer did not find it easy when he attempted to stop the armed men from their unacceptable conducts. The question is if the Police, an institution mandated to protect the rights of citizens and sovereignty of the state could not stop that unfortunate incident, the what is the fate of the ordinary citizen. Obviously this incident and other recent happening give a negative image to the country with global investment implications.
Political Parties and governance related institutions must up their game and work as expected of them. The rhetoric for political parties to disband vigilante groups associated with them should be backed by action for the sake of peace and national cohesion. Electoral Commission must take some lessons from the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election incident and see what measures to adopt to deal with such security concerns whether near polling stations or not, because the chances of registering low voter turn-out in a security charged environment are high. Electoral violence, causing fear and intimidation due to the presence of heavy security personnel if not managed well can undermine the credibility of election results, looking at the experience of the Ayawaso West Wuogon poll. The Electoral Commission has a duty to assure peace loving Ghanaians and the world that they are capable of conducting and managing the country’s future elections. The Police Service and their security Institutions must give the citizenry a reason to trust them because the posture and conduct armed men at Bawaleshie in the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election raised a lot of questions.
Who authorized their deployment and which of the security agencies do they come from? Why were they not arrested if claims that they were not sanctioned for that operations are true? Indeed, there are more questions than answers. Democracy is very expensive. It took a lot of work and sacrifice to build Ghana’s current democratic credentials making it a shining example in Africa. It is essential for the present generation to be mindful of their actions and inactions in order not to turn the progressive democratic clock backward. Let’s not fail those who shared their blood for the Independence of our motherland. The time to eschew violence and sacrifice our individual interest for the collective good of One Ghana, is now.
BY: SEIDU MUTAWAKIL, A STUDENT OF THE GHANA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Need For Ghanaians To Support The 2021 Budget

  The 2021 budget focused on the need to complete all previously initiated projects, consolidate the economy and continue with new programmes for the benefit of the people. The previous practice where some of the uncompleted projects were delayed for various reasons is unacceptable and must be abandoned for the progress of the country. This is good and ought to be realized because abandoned or neglected projects constitute a drain on the resources of the country. Development programmes must be well thought through before their implementation. Their implementation must also be well planned so that they will not constitute a waste of resources in the country. If this is done at all times, the entire country will benefit from a sound and maximum use of its limited resources for Ghanaians. This must therefore guide all governments, present and future for the rapid socio-economic development of the country. It is clear that government needs more revenue to be able to finance its development
Read more

Showing compassion to the less privileged

  Poverty, it is said, is a serious disease which when it afflicts you, will not kill you easily but rather disorganises your plans and ways of living and renders you impotent. Nobody is born poor on this earth but rather, certain unforeseen circumstances give way to poverty. A touchy and heart-rendering story of an 18-year old orphan who is desirous of becoming a doctor in the future but currently facing financial challenges to support his education to realise his ambition is for some time now trending on social media. Edward Elorm Gbanaglo is said to have completed his secondary education at the Presbyterian Boys’ Senior High School (PRESEC) in Accra with seven A’s and two B’s and has gained admission into the University of Health and Allied Sciences at Ho in the Volta Region. He managed to pay his admission fees with the help of his late mother’s friends. However, Elorm, who defied all odds to make excellent grades, fears he might not be able to complete the program because he does
Read more

One Year Of Coronavirus In Ghana

  Exactly a year ago, Ghana announced the first two recorded Coronavirus cases in the country. This was after few months that the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared the disease a public health emergency of international concern. It became the highest level of alarm under international law. The WHO published an interactive timeline showcasing how the organization has taken action on information, science, leadership, advice, response and resourcing. A year on, Ghana’s Covid-19 death toll has reached 656, with active case standing at 4,782 with 272 new cases recorded, leading to 86,737 total confirmed cases. Experts are of the opinion that the figures might have been terrible but for the pragmatic and prudent measures put in by the Government, which was hailed across the globe. Ghana is said to have been one of the world’s best countries to have managed the spread of COVID-19 very well. Indeed, the country’s leadership with respect to the control of the pandemic has been superb.
Read more