2015 Action Campaign
Over 1,000 youth activists on Saturday marched in solidarity to support the global call for action/2015 campaign in Ghana.
The move was aimed at complementing the efforts of youth leaders across the world in mobilizing 15 million youths worldwide to vigorously campaign and demand from Governments fair funding of essential services, honoring of their aid commitments and to urge them to tackle the act of tax injustices ahead of the 2015 Finance for Development summit slated for next week in Ethiopia.
The activists were drawn from various Civil Society Organizations in Ghana including the Global Call to Action against poverty (GCAP), The Purim African Youth Development Platform (PAYDP), the Abibiman Foundation, the community and Family Aid Foundation (CAFAF) and strongly led by Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC).
They marched to commemorate the day through the streets of Accra carrying placards with inscriptions “Fund fairly”,Tackle tax injustices”, “Reduce Inequality”, “Finance our future”, “Keep your promises”, amongst others from the Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout to the courtyard of the airport where they converged, chanting, singing amidst drumming and dancing calling for action.
At the airport square, leaders of various groups took turns to address the youths on essence of the day in marking and also the role of youth activism in the fight towards justice to back the call for action/2015 campaign which is being marked globally across the world in 70 countries.
They were told to be well mobilized and be steadfast in their quest to resist higher forces that seeks to put dust into the eyes of ordinary citizens in pursuit for fair funding, tax injustice, keeping of promises, reduction of inequality amongst other social vices that seeks undermine civil rights and bad governance.
The demonstration, according to youth leaders, forms part of the action 2015 movement which comes off on eve of the third Financing for Development Summit in Addis Ababa(13-16 July, 2015) , at which heads of state and finance ministries are being called upon to fund the next 15years of sustainable Development and long-term action on climate change.
One of the leaders, Benard Anaba, a policy analyst with ISODEC, in an interview with the media appealed to Government to show commitment and support for the nation to participate and make the right decisions during the finance summit (Financial Development Conference) which is scheduled to take place on Monday to Thursday on the 13-16th July, 2015 in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.
This, he said will help move the country forward, cautioning leaders of developing nations including Ghana to be vigilant in monitoring the tax systems which a lot of malfeasance are said to have been registered across Africa yearly causing a colossal loss of 50 billion dollars every year.
“We know the global tax system does not favor development countries, as it is said, the African Union is pushing the agenda at this conference that they should help stop the 50 billion dollars that leaves African shores to the outside world every year, so if they restructure the global system, Africa will be able to retain about 50 million dollars every year that will go a long way to help our development”, he hinted.
Mr. Benard Anaba therefore urge Government to rally behind the African Union in its pursuit to tackle tax injustice by pushing the agenda for restructuring of the global tax system which he strongly believes will fast track developmental projects in African for that matter Ghana.
Various activities including a street rally has been staged around the Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout including a mob flash at Osu and Obra Spot at Circle in solidarity to mark the day for global action 2015.
Several rallies and activities being backed by powerful leaders such as Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu including other great activist leaders have also taken place concurrently to mark the day in more than 70 cities around the world including Ethiopia, Nairobi, Pretoria, and Delhi amongst the others.
In Kenya’s Mathare slum in Nairobi, as many as 5,000 youth activists are expected to attend the rally.
Whilst in Pretoria, South Africa, young people from across the country also expected to participate in the demonstration outside the Finance Ministry to highlight economic inequality. In India, thousands of young people will lead mobilizations in 15 states.
Action2015 is a growing citizens’ movement made up of almost 2000 organizations, networks and coalitions from 145 countries.
It is with belief that 2015 is a critical year for progress in the fight against climate change, poverty and equality hence the need for action on part of youths to effect a radical change.
