Wanted: Reason and Compromise in Ghana
But for the selfish interests of a few who stand to benefit from them, wars could be prevented largely by compromise. In Africa as elsewhere in the world, the lust for power and influence has always instigated the needless loss of life and limb. In the Congo DR for instance, the major cause of instability is the country’s mineral wealth. Yugoslavia broke up largely because of narrow and longstanding ethnic feuds that fed the selfish interests of the leadership of the various factions. The word ‘balkanization’ now connotes disunity.
Ghana has always enjoyed stability among its warring neighbors. A few months to general elections in December 2012, events now happening do not ensure peace.
The insistence by both government and the Electoral Commission to create 45 more constituencies despite a massive opposition and the violent plans being contrived by the governing NDC to win the elections by all means necessary are all issues that could be prevented through compromise and understanding.
Those opposing the creation of those 45 new constituencies are only concerned with the timing. The new biometric voters’ registry is still fraught with errors that need to be corrected in time enough for the elections. Logistically, it is not prudent now to bring in 45 more members of a parliament that is housed in temporary lodgings. And an economy that is wobbling on its feet may not be able support a parliament that keeps demanding better conditions of service. As we write, the speaker of the parliament’s conduct in setting up a committee to study the constitutional instrument submitted for consideration in the parliament is egregious. The so-called committee excludes members of the opposition in parliament. In further development, the electoral commission has refused to give the NPP and other political parties copies of the provisional register as stated in section 21 (2) of CI-72 and even post it on their website as in section 22 (3). Needless to say, such behavior of the EC puts the integrity of the voters’ register into question.
In the interest of peace we demand that the president step up by publicly condemning his party’s national organizer in his admission of complicity in a conspiracy to employ thugs to disrupt the elections. It could go a long way to boost his credibility among Ghanaians. Peace, justice and equal rights, the hall mark of democracy are being threatened here and the world is watching. Anything that could mar the future of the country should not be parried as an old wife’s whine.
It seems as if in this critical period in the history of Ghana, compromise is clearly being ignored by the authorities in whose custody reside good governance, democracy and peace. The people’s trust is being betrayed, but it could be assuaged by simply coming to terms with the truth dictated by the issues on the ground.
We wish to put the world on notice that Ghana’s future is being mortgaged on political grounds. Amandla is keenly aware that saner minds are prevalent even among those who are feigning intransigence. And we shall continue to fight on the side of reason and peace.
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