Ghana must be wary of civil revolution rather than military takeovers – Bagbin

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, says Ghana must be cautious of civil revolution and disobedience rather than military takeovers in disrupting the democratic values of the country. He said to some of the citizens, democracy had not lived up to its billing as anticipated, resulting in the erosion of trust and confidence in the political class by the electorates.

To that end, Speaker Bagbin said the military in Ghana was not ready to take over as has happened recently in Niger and other neighbouring countries, but authorities must be wary of civil revolution. He was delivering a keynote address in Takoradi, at a public forum which was organized by Parliament as part of activities to commemorate 30 years of uninterrupted parliamentary democracy under the Fourth Republic.

The commemoration is on the theme: “30 Years of Parliamentary Democracy Under the Fourth Republic: The Journey Thus Far”. According to the speaker, “There is a huge dissonance between our words as politicians and our actions. Our assurances are not supported by any empirical data.

This has made political conduct highly transactional, with instant personal benefits to the voter as the currency. As a result, the trust and confidence that voters had in democracy have been trumped.”
Bagbin indicated that around the world, including Ghana, members of the public held those they had elected to office and democratic institutions in very low esteem.

He attributed the loss of confidence of the electorates in politicians to cases of corruption, impropriety, conflict of interest, influence peddling, crimes, economic hardships, and misdemeanours. Bagbin said all these were threats to the successes chalked over the years for practising democracy as a country.

“We cannot bury our heads in the sand like the ostrich and pretend all is well. Ghanaians are still not in agreement as to which political direction to go and how to get there.” “We the leaders and the people must understand each other, have a common appreciation of the direction, so that together, we can navigate this tortuous journey of democracy successfully, in joy and happiness,” the speaker said.

Bagbin called on the political class to redevelop stringent measures aimed at reversing the current trend to help regain the confidence of the citizenry. He added, that could only be achieved through instituting policies that would bring the desired socio-economic growth of the people while ensuring accountability and transparency within public institutions.

By: Joseph Appiah-Dolphyne