Mahama advocates strengthening of institutions

President John Dramani Mahama on Monday said the strengthening of social and political institutions would catapult the fight against socio-economic inequalities, especially in African countries.

"And the best way we can strengthen the institutions and structures is through adherence to the tenets of decentralization throughout the country and beyond," he added.

President Mahama said this when he opened a Pan- African Conference on inequalities in the context of structural transformation in Accra.

The conference, which is the brain-child of Pan- African countries, would among other things, put in place mechanisms to facilitate collaboration with a view to stimulating policy change and advocacy at the regional and national levels.

It encompasses high level panels, framing presentations, innovative plenaries, and parallel group discussions to build a common understanding of social, economic and political inequalities, and how they might be more effectively addressed within the context of a structural transformation agenda.

The three-day conference attracted delegates from over 30 countries and Pan-African related organisations.

President Mahama said although the inequalities existed since civilization, it would need concerted efforts from political and societal leaders to embark on policies that could overcome the canker.

He mentioned disease, poverty, ignorance, famine, conflicts and deprivation as some of the by-products of inequalities in society, whose elimination could chart the path of prosperity, equality and equity for every human generation.

In a bid to bridge the inequality gaps in the Ghanaian society, President Mahama said government over the years initiated a number of programmes and policies to make all citizens comfortable.

The President mentioned some of the social interventions as the National Health Insurance Scheme, the School Feeding Programme, the Capitation Grant, the Livelihood Empowerment... and the elimination of schools under trees, which would further enhance the bridging of inequalities.

He gave the assurance that government would continue to leverage the decentralization programme to offer effective measures of further eliminating the existing social disparities.

President Mahama appealed to political and social groupings to also play their roles effectively to eliminate the disparities that had remained an albatross on the necks of the people.

He pledged to use the national and international platforms within his jurisdiction to achieve those goals in the coming years.

Professor Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Chairperson of the opening ceremony, appealed to Pan- African leaders to continue to collaborate governments of their member-countries to achieve their development targets.