The Centre for National Interest and Research (CNIR), a leading think tank, has called for a hybrid democratic system that is solution-oriented to surmount Ghana’ s socioeconomic challenges.
Dr Dzabaku Kudiabor Ocansey, the Executive Director of the Centre, said the country faced challenges of exploitation, divisiveness, corruption and economic crisis, which must be dealt with decisively.
At a press conference on: “Advocating an end to Binary Extreme Partisan Politics of Divisiveness and Unprecedented Corruption,” Dr Ocansey said citizens, including politicians, needed to understand that politics was not a reserve of a small established elite but for a collective participation of the people to rethink an approach towards improving governance, the economy and society.
“There is the need to move beyond Ghana’s binary, extreme partisan politics, which perpetuate divisiveness, corruption and unsustainable national debt,” he said.
Dr Ocansey said Ghana’s political and democratic landscape should not just be centered on the Conventions People’s Party, the New Patriotic Party and National Democratic Congress but centre on the broader national interest, recognising the selfless contributions of all nationalists.
It was imperative to celebrate the illustrious sons and daughters of Ghana, who sacrificed their resources and made selfless efforts towards her independence from 1806 to 1957.
“We must pay tribute to pioneers like Tetteh Quarshie, who introduced cocoa, the backbone of Ghana’s economy, Jacob Wilson Sey, who led the campaign against the 1897 Land Bill and saved our lands through his Aboriginies Right Protection Society, A.G. Paa Grant, who financed political events, and Alfred John Kabu Ocansey, who used his media outlets for national discourse,” he added.
He urged President John Dramani Mahama to rename the Kotoka International Airport after any of the four personalities mentioned, adding that the Centre would present its ideas to the Constitution Review Committee.
Dr Ocansey urged Ghanaians, especially the middle class and youth, to unite for national development, prioritise inclusivity and collaboration and promote more nuanced narratives that acknowledged all nationalists.
Source: GNA
