CJA to hold "Wahala" demo in Cape Coast

Accra, Aug. 10, GNA - The Committee for Joint Action (CJA), which has been holding a series of demonstrations against fuel price hikes and general cost of living dubbed "Wahala" would hold the next march at Cape Coast in the Central Region in September.

The demonstration, according to Mr Ato Ahwoi, a leading member of the CJA, was to intensify the public agitation against "bad governance, mounting economic hardships and the insensitivity of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government".


The CJA, comprising a number of opposition political parties, democratic organizations and civil society groups, said it was leading the street protest against the increase in fuel prices and general hardships.


Mr Ahwoi was contributing to discussions at a press conference organised by the Committee in Accra on Wednesday to state their position on the August 8 new fuel prices announced by the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).


He said the measures announced by the Government to mitigate the effects of the fuel price increases were at best cosmetic and a clear indication that it was not being honest with Ghanaians as far as the economy was concerned.


"NPP Government's ability to make electoral promises and break them with impunity is undermining confidence in democracy. They are inimical to good governance and the earlier we called them to order, the better it will be for our democracy."


Mr Ahwoi said the Cape Coast demonstration would emphasise the position of civil society organisation, organised labour, CJA and political parties to hold leaders accountable.

He said CJA would continue to organise workshops; lectures; consultations; radio and television discussions to expose the Government's insensitivity to the plight of the people.


"We also call on Wahala marchers, organised labour and the general citizenry to maintain vigilance and indeed heighten the campaign for lower fuel taxes - particularly in the light of expected crude oil price increases as winter approaches.


"We warned that without this vigilance the NPP Government might slip back into its economically reckless tax-and-spend approach to governance."


Answering questions on the relevance of CJA demonstrations in the face increasing world crude oil prices, Mr K. Opoku, a leading member, said they were reckless regressive taxation, corruption, waste and mismanagement and the Government's treasonous surrender of national sovereignty.


"Building consciousness of this inter-relationship and stimulating corrective civic activism is precisely the mission that CJA has set itself through the Wahala movement," Mr Opoku, who is the General Secretary of the National Reform Party, stated.


He said recent developments had both vindicated the policy positions CJA had advanced over the last six months and demonstrated the efficacy of mass mobilisation in influencing even the most recalcitrant governments. 10 Aug. 05