Communication team member of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Nana Kwadwo Agyei Yeboah (Nana Kay), is claiming that journalists in Ghana are experiencing a better environment compared to what was witnessed under former President John Dramani Mahama.
According to him, contrary to claims that we are currently experiencing a culture of silence under President Akufo-Addo, there is an environment for people to express their views and opinions.
Senior citizen, Sam K. Jonah, has recently court controversy after he decried a culture of silence under President Nana Akufo-Addo.
Mr. Jonah, in his recent public lecture with Rotarians in Accra under the theme: Down the Up Escalator: Reflections on Ghana’s Future by a Senior Citizen, expressed worry about the failure on the part of individuals and civil society organizations to speak up against social ills.
He said persons who used to speak up against ills in society are all mute despite wanton corruption, killing and torturing of journalists, and rising moral degeneration in the Ghanaian society.
According to him, “we have elected governments since 1992 to steer our affairs. But the very nature of our democratic setup is our undoing. The three arms of government are like a tripod. For stability, each leg must have enough strength to stand. In our system, one leg i.e the executive has more strength than the other two combined. In fact, the two seem to derive their strengths from that of the executive, thus weakening checks and balances. Any party that comes to power has absolute power to do whatever they want. The 1992 Constitution is the basis for the current democratic dispensation. It created a monstrous executive which looms large over the other arms of the governance structure, and for 28 years, we have failed to make any meaningful changes to strengthen our democracy. Actually, what we have is an “Executocracy”, not a democracy. The President is supposed to appoint the majority of his ministers from Parliament. By definition, that makes Parliament a rubber stamp, because no MP in the ruling party will be able to stand up and demand accountability from the executive – they are all scrambling for positions! The Judiciary is no different. The President has a determining role in the appointment of all the judges of the Supreme Court including the Chief Justice. This festers the perception that the situation compromises the impartiality and independence of the judiciary. Indeed a large section of the citizenry believes that the judiciary is not impartial with 85% of Ghanaians in a recent Afrobarometer survey perceiving the judiciary as corrupt and ineffective.”
But Nana Kay reacting said the position taken by the senior statesman is not the true reflection of our current situation.
He said there were many instances under Mahama where people were killed without anyone being held responsible.
Journalists he added died under the Mahama administration and yet, no one was held responsible for these killings.
The NPP communicator said he would not endorse an attack on people who express their views or criticize the government but would also not entertain a false representation of the issues.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com
