Think tanks don’t always get it right but don’t kill them – Ace Ankomah advises

Renowned lawyer and leading member of OccupyGhana, a civil society organization, Ace Anan Ankomah has appealed to the government and all others to desist from demonizing or seeking to discredit Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) when they get things wrong on issues.

Mr Anan Ankomah noted that even though CSOs may get things wrong sometimes, they still offer perspectives that are useful to the government or which ever body it criticises or offers suggestions, insisting that CSOs must not be slaughtered for erring on discussing issues.

His assertions follow the massive backlash being received by policy think tank Imani Africa following the think tanks purported miscalculations on issues concerning the compilation of the new voter’s register.

Many persons, notably supporters of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), have chastised Imani Africa for making projections about the numbers that the Electoral Commission (EC) could register within the registered period that seemed to not have come to pass.

“Don’t demonise CSOs and voices of dissent. Don’t kill them. They may not always get it right. They might sound like irritants. But at the very least their advocacy and the answers you are forced to give, also give you the opportunity to rethink, restrategise and recalibrate. These might then make you either firmer in your view or even change what you wanted to do.

"Tikro nko agyina, my interpretation, you don’t think with one head.” He said.