Ghanaians in Europe express support for ...

...the Supreme Court and condemn corruption in government

Thousands of Ghanaians from all parts of Europe on Saturday gathered in the German City of Cologne to express their confidence in the Supreme Court of Ghana and to condemn the unprecedented levels of corruption that have characterized the Mahama administration.

The Solidarity march which was organized by the Association of Concerned Ghanaians in Europe ( ACGIE) was attended by not only Ghanaians but other human rights organizations, anti-corruption groups, development organizations and ordinary Germans as well.

Clad in Ghana’s national colours of red, gold, green amidst the chanting of patriotic songs the marchers went through the principal streets of Cologne carrying placards some of which read” Thank you Supreme Court for the Live Telecast’ ‘We trust the Supreme Court’ ‘Stand firm Supreme Court’ ‘We are with You’.

They also had some messages for the NDC government some of which stated ‘No to corruption’ ‘Corruption Kills’ ‘Corruption threatens Democracy’ ‘ Where is the oil money?’ ‘Pay the Doctors Now’ ‘JDM has failed Ghanaians’ ‘What happened to the NHIS?’ ‘Implement ROPAA Now’ Give us our Right to Vote’ ‘We are the Backbone of Ghana’s Economy’ and ‘End the Light off, Water off and Gas off Now’. After nearly three hours , the marchers gathered at the famous Neumarkt where they were addressed by the leaders of ACGIE.

First to the address the crowd was Mr. Dwamena Yeboah, ACGIE representative in Germany who thanked the Supreme Court for allowing the Live Telecast of the Petition proceedings and said the decision would help strengthen and deepen Ghana´s democracy.

Touching on the current economic crisis in the country, Mr. Yeboah noted that this could have been avoided if the NDC government had been more responsible and prudent in its spending in the last quarter of 2012. He insisted that the reckless spending and blatant misuse of state resources and funds during the electioneering campaign is what has brought the country to this sad state where government is unable to pay essential service providers such as Doctors, Nurses and Pharmacists.

On his part Mr. Frederick Addo , ACGIE representative in France pointed out that Ghana with all its natural and human resources should be able to provide her people with basic services including electricity, water gas and free education as is been done in other parts of the world. According to him what has been lacking in Ghana especially in the last five years is effective and visionary leadership saying ‘it is this leadership paralysis coupled with incompetence, mismanagement and corruption that account for the development of underdevelopment in Ghana’

Mr. Kobby Annan, who spoke on behalf of ACGIE-Holland expressed concern about the unwillingness on the part of government to engage the doctors in finding an amicable solution to the strike.

Mr. Annan observed that government has so far not demonstrated either the desire or the determination to resolving the dispute but has rather choosen the path of confrontation, threats and intimidation.

‘In fact this confrontational attitude, this uncompromising posturing and hostile approach adopted by government officials and NDC functionaries is counter-productive and unhelpful’ he added.

Mr. Kwaku Anane-Gyinde, Secretary of ACGIE told Ghanaians in diaspora that they should not be content with just sending remittances to Ghana but should insist on their right to vote like any other Ghanaian and said’ it is only by exercising this right that we can shape the future political direction of our mother land’ According to him, although the Law (ROPAA Act 699)empowering Ghanaians living abroad to vote has been passed since 2006, it has not been possible to exercise this right in practice thereby compelling Ghanaians who want to have a say in the country’s democratic process to travel to Ghana at the cost of at least $6000 just to cast a single vote.

This situation Mr. Anane-Gyinde insisted is not only discriminatory but also unacceptable in view of the immense contribution Ghanaians living abroad are making towards the country’s socio-economic development.

He disclosed that in 2012 Ghanaians in diaspora transferred $18.7 Billion according to Bank of Ghana Report on remittances. This represents monies that have been transferred through official channels and does not include those sent through unofficial channels such as friends

Mr. Anane-Gyinde revealed that several petitions to the electoral commission to implement ROPAA as required by Law have fallen on death ears and as such ACGIE is left with no alternative than to consider filling a writ of mandamus at the Supreme Court asking the Court to compel the E.C to implement ROPPA (Act 699) ‘If the EC can mobilize resources to register 241,000 ghost names for the 2012 elections, we cannot understand why it is finding it difficult or unwilling to give us that same right’ he concluded.