Ashaiman joins more Zongos in condemning politics of insults, propaganda

With the 2024 elections approaching, several Zongo communities have been speaking out against the age-old politics of insults, deceit, and propaganda, particularly aimed at winning votes in Zongo communities.

Leading figures in the Zongo community have already condemned this practice, which has surfaced in the build-up to the 2024 elections, with some political parties employing the tactic of name-calling, insults, lies, and propaganda against their opponents.

The latest to join the condemnation is the leadership of Ashaiman Zongo, who have called for decency.

At the latest edition of Zongo Connect, an interactive community-level program for Zongo communities organized by Accra-based Iqra Radio, the Zongo Chiefs of Ashaiman called for an issue-based campaign rather than insults.

"This year's election, we all have a role to play, especially the Chiefs and elders. We need to keep educating our people not to be insulting and not to be violent. We should not allow anyone to make it a campaign of insults in the Zongos and in Ashaiman," said the Zongo Chief of Ashaiman.

"Here in Ashaiman Zongo, we don't want politics to divide us because we are one people, so we want to appeal to all those who seek to divide us to stop. We want development, and that's what the campaign should focus on."

"Election is all about choices. It is like going into the market; you look out for the best and go for it. This should not divide us because we want the best for our community."

Another elder who spoke hit hard on those who, because of politics, even go to the extent of questioning the faith of their fellow Muslims in the Zongos.

"When it comes to politics, some of the political parties come to Zongo and use us, especially the youth. This should not be the case," he said.

"Another problem is the politics of insult. It should not be entertained because it is divisive. It is disheartening to see a Muslim calling his fellow Muslim names, saying he is not a proper Muslim because of politics. This is unacceptable."

Another speaker, Alhaji Issah, said that due to a lack of education and unemployment, the youth of Zongo were often used to perpetuate election-related incidents, which he said brought shame to Zongo communities.

However, he observed that with a significant improvement in the education of the youth, such unfortunate developments have reduced significantly in Ashaiman in recent years.

"The key issue affecting us in Zongo was a lack of education. We really needed it for our youth. Previously, here in Ashaiman, politicians used to come here with 20 cedis to recruit our young people for all sorts of violence. But now it has reduced significantly, and I believe it is because of access to education," he said.

He also called for more job opportunities for the youth to keep them busy and ensure they are not lured into unacceptable political activities.

Unanimously, both the Ashaiman Zongo Chiefs and their elders agreed that the era of politics of rice, sugar, and milk, as well as politics of propaganda and insults, should be rejected in favor of politics of issues and development.

They called for more educational opportunities, jobs, and support for health facilities.

Meanwhile, the community expressed gratitude to Vice President Bawumia for facilitating a scholarship for a brilliant student from the Ashaiman community to be one of 40 brilliant but needy students sent to Cuba by the government in 2020 to study as medical doctors.

Watch the first episode of GhanaWeb TV’s Campaign Trail below