'Kum yen preko' demo against Akufo-Addo on July 2

Members of the Coalition for Social Justice (CSJ) are billed to demonstrate in Accra on Tuesday, 2 July 2019 against the government in "a march against hardship and oppression".

The march is dubbed "Kum yen preko" – to wit: "kill us now".

According to the group, “Ever since President Akufo-Addo ascended the Presidency, he and his government have pursued policies that have left many worse off and increasingly vulnerable”.

“We note, among other things, the unbearable cost of living in the country occasioned by high cost of fuel, continuous depreciation of the cedi and skyrocketing prices of goods and services without a corresponding increase in wages.

“Many Ghanaians continue to lose their jobs while contractors remain unpaid. The NHIS is collapsing and we are back to the era of dumsor. Many flagship promises of President Akufo-Addo such as One Constituency-One Million Dollars per year, One Village-One Dam, One District-One Factory, and the promised fight against corruption remain unfulfilled. Due to the excessive reckless borrowing of the Akufo-Addo government, Ghana’s Public debt has increased astronomically by a whopping GHS80 billion in the last two-and-a-half years with very little to show for”, the group said.

Aside from the above, the group noted “with dismay, the several acts of oppression that have characterised the Akufo-Addo regime”, explaining that: “In the last two-and-a-half years, the Akufo-Addo government has sought to obscure and muzzle out any opposition to their misgovernance by resorting to persistent harassment of political opponents and independent dissenting voices.

“We refer among other things to the attacks on press freedom such as the gruesome murder of investigative journalist Hussein Ahmed-Suale, the harassment and intimidation of journalists like Joy FM’s Manesseh Azuri, Star FM’s Edward Adeti, Radio XYZ’s Kwame Minka etc., as well as the gestapo shutdown of Radio Gold, Radio XYZ and other media organisations. We also refer to the continuous harassment of the National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, the several acts of lawlessness and the deployment of the coercive powers of state for the purpose of intimidating and silencing political opposition as was witnessed at Ayawaso West Wuogon.

“These acts, coupled with increasing levels of insecurity and impunity in the country, arbitrary dismissals and victimisation of workers, and the politically-motivated collapse of businesses perceived to belong to opponents, are calculated to aid the 'state capture' agenda of President Akufo-Addo and the NPP.”