Charles Abugre calls for a Kenya-like protest in Ghana, laments poor leadership

The Executive Director for the International Development Economics Associates, Charles Abugre, has called on the youth in the country to emulate their colleagues in Kenya by protesting over the poor economic conditions in the country.

The East African country has been struggling to contain the marauding youth who have risen up against the introduction of an E-levy type of tax by the government.

The protesters, on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, overran the legislature, leaving many lawmakers stranded.

Speaking at the Ghana Civil Society Forum 2024, Mr. Abugre questioned the quality of leadership the country has been enjoying.

"Forming new ways of mobilizing and making their voices visible in times that matter. They have been shown the way by the Kenyan youth. They have protested against taxation as bad as Ghana's, they went onto the street alone and are still fighting.

"They have occupied parliament, and they have been consistent. The Ghanaian youth are also capable, only if they act as citizens, not idiots, and if they collectively recognize that unless the country as a whole progresses, no single individual or clan's progression can be sustainable. Can we also have a youth uprising?"

On his part, the UN resident coordinator, Charles Abani, questioned whether Ghana has indeed maximized the dividends of democracy, especially for the youth.

Mr. Abani argued that the development of the country, at best, seems stagnated with the NDC and NPP constantly changing the buttons of governance in an 8-year cycle.

The Executive Director of Star Ghana Foundation, Alhaji Amidu Ibrahim-Tanko, lamented the struggles by CSOs to find space to be critical of policymakers.

According to him, politicians constantly remind players in the civil society space that they have no constituencies whenever they become critical.

"How do we respond collectively to not just the problems but also the opportunities that are arising from what is happening within a space? We have been very good at addressing external issues that affect the civil peace and our organization, the clinging, funding, restrictive policies, and these are necessary to discuss, but we haven't spent enough time shining the light on ourselves.

"What are we doing well, what are we not doing well, how do we strategize to become more inclusive, how do we strategize to become more effective, how do we strategize to become more credible and legitimate? These days, whenever we make any point that the politicians don't like, they ask, 'Where is your constituency?' and 'Who do you represent?' and that has been used a lot to try and silence our society.

"But sometimes, you know, these points are not without basis; some of us haven't paid enough attention to how we become more accountable to the constituents and to the citizens of this country. How do we enhance our effectiveness, and also, how do we protect this space within which we work as a civil society organization?"