The Progressive People’s Party has begun processes to withdraw a suit at the Human Rights Division of the High Court against the Ghana Police Service for restricting the party against its planned demonstration.

The Ghana Police Service on several occasions stopped the PPP from embarking on a planned nationwide demonstration to express their disgust at the high level of corruption in the country.

A statement signed by the National Secretary, Kofi Asamoah Siaw, said the party has withdrawn the suit at the High Court on the premise of a letter from the Police Command expressing regret for their actions.

Below is the full statement

Press Release: PPP vs. Attorney General Anti Corruption Suit Notice of Withdrawal

On the 25th of July 2013, the PPP first requested Police protection to lead horrified Ghanaians in a massive demonstration in the first week of August 2013 to express disgust at the high levels of corruption uncovered and reported in the media.

Radio and TV reported the Police’s denial of this Constitutional right to demonstrate on the grounds that demonstrations had been banned until after the Supreme Court ruled on the 2012 Presidential Declaration petition

As a law abiding body not seeking a confrontation with the Police Service, the PPP acted appropriately to postpone this demonstration to September 10, 2013 and informed the Police Service accordingly for protection as required by the Public Order Act.

Unfortunately, on September 6, 2013 the Police Command in a letter dated September 6, 2013 again requested a rescheduling of the planned peaceful demonstration against corruption because of a National Security ban on public demonstrations still in effect and, in our refusal to reschedule, sought a Court order to restrain our planned peaceful demonstration on September 10, 2013.

Finding the reasons expressed by the Police to be unfortunate and unacceptable, the PPP accordingly went to the High Court to seek an interpretation of the National Security Ban on demonstrations in the Republic of Ghana as an infringement on our constitutional right to express ourselves through demonstrations.

The High Court scheduled the first hearing for arguments on Wednesday, September 25, 2013 but the respondents did not show up necessitating the Presiding Judge to adjourn the hearing to the forenoon of November 6, 2013.

Subsequently, the Police Command agreed to and offered Police Protection in the peaceful demonstration on October 3, 2013 that was dubbed “Ayefe Notse”

However, in a letter dated 27th September 2013 and received on 1st October 2013, the Police Command regretted the content of their September 6, 2013 letter that indicated that the National Security had placed a ban on all demonstrations and other Public Order Events and therefore requested the PPP to withdraw the Court Action against the Attorney General to strengthen cordial relations.

Accordingly, the PPP, in a show of faith and understanding of the tremendous burden faced by the Police Service to maintain the Nation’s Peace, the PPP has initiated the processes to withdraw the application before the Human Rights Division of the High Court due to be re-heard on November 6, 2013.

Everyone in Ghana knows there is corruption everywhere. Reports of several commissions of enquiry, Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee and the Ghana Integrity Initiative to mention just a few, confirm the country is engulfed in corruption, revealing that the perception of corruption in Ghana has worsened in the last two years.

Details of a survey conducted in all 10 regions of the country revealed that 54% of the 2,000 respondents thought corruption had deepened in the past two years, while only 20% reported that corruption had decreased. 82% of the respondents felt that corruption was a problem, and only 30% of people expressed confidence in the government’s efforts to fight corruption.

With evidence showing that Ghana loses about 3-Billion Ghana Cedis annually to corruption in only the public sector, the PPP campaign to seek constitutional and administrative reforms in the nation’s governance infrastructure; to make incorruptible leadership a cardinal principle in the governance of the country; and for Ghana to attain a true middle income status in the foreseeable future will continue to raise awareness even though the majority of Ghanaians may believe that nothing can be done about it.

Subsequently, the public is hereby informed of the next anti-corruption campaign taking the message to the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi on November 16, 2013 in a peaceful demonstration of the nation’s revulsion at the unprecedented levels of corruption currently being exposed in the media.

Signed:

Kofi Asamoah-Siaw

National Secretary