Hold presidential nominees to account - IEA

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has asked the electorate to demand accountability from presidential nominees even before deciding which of them to vote for at the 7 December polls.

Speaking with Class News, Executive Director of the institute, Mrs Jean Mensa said this approach will ensure that the real concerns of the electorate are addressed when candidates are elected into office.

“The whole essence of democracy and the whole essence of the exercise of electing officers is to ensure that they come and improve the lot of the society and if they are there to improve the lot of the society, then we must ensure that we are comfortable with the programmes that they have for us, we are comfortable that they can give solutions to the challenges that we face before we elect any of them president and I think this is when the whole accountability mechanism comes in and if you want to be president you must address the concerns of the people to assure them you know what you are going to do and you have the capacity to address their concerns,” she stated.

Contributing to the debate on key issues that manifestos must address, Mrs Mensa noted that: “The economy is a major and a critical area that politicians should focus on. How to stabilise the economy and get the economy growing and for us at the IEA, we feel the politicians should be looking at strengthening the economy and building a viable economy to support the growth and development of this country”.