Citizen's Coalition unveiled To demand accountability

To press home the demand for accountability from state actors, a new coalition for Democratic Accountability and Inclusive Governance has been unveiled to champion that cause.

The coalition is calling on the government to as a matter of urgency impress upon the Auditor-General to exercise his powers under the constitution to issue surcharges and disallowance against persons cited for various financial irregularities in 2019 and 2020 Auditor-General's reports. "We note in 2018, Mr. Daniel Domelovo, then Auditor-General, recovered over GHS66million back to government coffers through surcharges.

Following his forced existence from office in 2020, the Office of the Auditor-General is yet to issue any disallowance, and persons found to have misappropriated public funds have been left off the hook. "If the Auditor-General persists in ignoring his clear constitutional mandate affirmed by the Supreme Court, our coalition will take the necessary action to ensure that he complies with the Constitution of Ghana", a statement read on behalf of the coalition stated in part.

The Coalition is worried about the recent publication by the Fourth Estate, in May and June 2022 showing the wanton disregard of the already weak asset declarations regulatory framework under article 286(1) of the constitution and the Public Office Holder(Declarations of Assets and Disqualification) Act 1998(Act 550). Information published by the Fourth Estate indicated that some 10,000 public office holders have failed to comply with the asset declarations requirements by law.

Given that, the coalition demands that the Auditor-General directs all defaulting public officers to comply with the constitutional requirements immediately. The coalition further welcomes the long-overdue inauguration of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Board to deal promptly with several legacy cases from Martin Amidu to build and sustain confidence in the office and its work.

The Coalition, termed "Citizens' Coalition" was unveiled on Monday, July 4, 2022, in Accra seeking among other things, the protection of lives and property is an amalgamation of over 34 active civil society organizations that have had the happenings in the country to the throat and require an immediate response from government and quasar-government institutions.

Addressing the press, a member of the coalition, and the Executive Director, West Africa Civil Society Institutions, Nana Asantewa Afadzinu has urged citizens of Ghana to wake up and demand their rights.

According to her, the socio-, economic, and governance challenges which include the rapid deterioration of the living conditions occasioned partly by the persistent depreciation of the cedi; leading to a severe weakening of the purchasing power of most working people, and the unprecedented steep rise in the cost of living as food prices continue to soar.

Petroleum products, she intimated are on the rise; affecting the cost of transportation coupled with sky-rocketing rent, a situation demanded a reverse. "These factors have invariably affected the cost of health care amongst Ghanaians, as well as other necessities coupled with the monster of mass youth unemployment", she decried the situation. "Sadly, measures taken by authorities so far do not seem to have the potency to mitigate these serious challenges.

The popular refrain by our potential leaders is that the prevailing socio-economic challenges are a global phenomenon occasioned by the combined effects of the covid-19 pandemic and the Russia/Ukraine war", Madam Afadzinu noted.

The WACSI Executive Director could not understand why the long-held rhetoric of Ghanaian leaders that until the two separate events of covid-19 and the Russian-Ukraine war ceases, nothing could be done to mitigate the challenges faced with adding that Ghanaians should simply live through the crisis in stoic silence with the sad posturing of government creating widespread discontent among citizens and the majority of Ghanaians, in turn, making them desperate", she said.

The coalition, while admitting that the economic challenges have been e acerbated by the covid-19pandemicc and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine war, said the problems go much deeper than those two factors.

According to the statement, the underlying causes of these problems relate to how successive governments have run the country and managed the economy without coherent planning.

"Our problems are exacerbated by the indiscipline with which projects are implemented, poorly thought through public investment,t, and lack of persistent and deliberate serious attempt at promoting local production capacity and industrialization.

Our public expenditure is characterized by needles wastes of public resources without due regard to fiscal responsibility rules ", the statement bemoaned. "What is more frustrating and to put it bluntly, annoying and provocative, is the insensitive and opulence V8-lifestyle of our elected or appointed public officials and bureaucratic elites- a lifestyle funded by the taxpayers, wanton abuse of power and impunity have become a way of life of the political class regardless of which party is in power", it noted.

The Coalition lamented whatsis referred to as political party patronage, plain grand the, find corruptifindn high places have characterized successive governments with electoral promises fighting corruption becoming a merpromisesse.

"We continue to witness one scandal after the other with the recent ones being more astonishing than the previous scandals. A recent example is the infamous criminal land-grabbing scandal of the immediate past CEO of the Forestry Commission and Former General Secretary of the ruling NPP, the late Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, popularly known n political circles as Sir John.

This way of life of the political and bureaucratic elites can be traced to various causes including, but not limited to, the ear-monopoly of the executive power in appointments to public service and parastatals, which continues to be a conduit for political patronage and cronyism" the address indicated.

The Coalition disagrees with h government's move to return portions of the Achimota land to the Owoo family in light Supreme Court decision. The coalition doubts ie whether the redevelopment of the forest would be compatible with its highly sensitive environmental status, where critically endangered species have found sanctuary. The coalition is hopeful that their demands will be given the necessary attention.

Report by Prosper Kwaku Selassy Agbitor