Former President and the Flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama is urging Ghanaians to join tomorrow’s demonstration to show their anger against hardships, insecurity and oppression being experience under the Akufo-Addo led NPP government.
In a Facebook post sighted by Awake News, the former president said, Ghana “is on the downward trend, with an unbearable increase in the cost of living; the citizenry doesn’t feel safe and yet Government continues to oppress and intimidate the people including journalists”
According to him, “this state of affairs is a threat to our democracy especially as the moral society remain unconcerned and surprisingly silent on the developments in our country, Ghana”
For him, “There is a lot of pent-up anger among Ghanaians and it’s beginning to manifest even among the security services” and “this manifestation gives all the allied groups participating in it, the opportunity to vent”
“It is in our country’s interest that we speak out and demonstrate our disapproval of the Akufo-Addo style of leadership, which has visited unprecedented hardships on Ghanaians” – he added
The Coalition for Social Justice has initiated the tomorrow’s demonstration dubbed ” Kum Preko” in Accra, against President Akufo-Addo led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government over what the promoters termed hardship and oppression economy.
The group during the announcement for the demonstration said “Many Ghanaians continue to lose their jobs while contractors remain unpaid. The NHIS is collapsing and we are back to the era of dumsor. Many flagship promises of President Akufo-Addo such as One Constituency-One Million Dollars per year, One Village-One Dam, One District-One Factory, and the promised fight against corruption remain unfulfilled. Due to the excessive reckless borrowing of the Akufo-Addo government, Ghana’s Public debt has increased astronomically by a whopping GHS80 billion in the last two-and-a-half years with very little to show for.”
Besides the many jobs loses, the Coalition said . “with dismay, the several acts of oppression that have characterised the Akufo-Addo regime”, explaining that: “In the last two-and-a-half years, the Akufo-Addo government has sought to obscure and muzzle out any opposition to their misgovernance by resorting to persistent harassment of political opponents and independent dissenting voices.
“We refer among other things to the attacks on press freedom such as the gruesome murder of investigative journalist Hussein Ahmed-Sule, the harassment and intimidation of journalists like Joy FM’s Manasseh Azure, Star FM’s Edward Adeti, Radio XYZ’s Kwame Minka etc., as well as the Gestapo shutdown of Radio Gold, Radio XYZ and other media organisations.”
“We also refer to the continuous harassment of the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, the several acts of lawlessness and the deployment of the coercive powers of state for the purpose of intimidating and silencing political opposition as was witnessed at Ayawaso West Wuogon,” the group added.
They continued, “These acts, coupled with increasing levels of insecurity and impunity in the country, arbitrary dismissals and victimisation of workers, and the politically-motivated collapse of businesses perceived to belong to opponents, are calculated to aid the ‘state capture’ agenda of President Akufo-Addo and the NPP.”
The Coalition, therefore, urged Ghanaians from all walks of life to join them on Tuesday, 2nd July 2019 [now July 9, 2019] to drum home a clear message to the Akufo-Addo government as well invite all progressive forces and political allies in this struggle to join them as they remind the Akufo-Addo regime that, it was elected to improve the living conditions of the Ghanaian and not to worsen them
The group stressed that the Akufo Addo government swore to respect human rights and freedoms and not to suppress the same, stating, ” Enough is enough.”
The demonstration that earlier on saw the support from many industrial groups has seen some of them withdrawing their support less than 48years to the day.
But the former President less than 24hours to the demonstration has thrown support behind the event urging Ghanaians to join same.
By: Efo Korsi Senyo / awakenewsonline.com