Editorial
Ghana’s democracy is the winner
After patiently waiting for the announcement by the Electoral Commission on the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary elections held on Monday, December 7, the results were officially declared by the Elections Management Body (EMB) in Ghana on Wednesday.
According to the Commission, the Presidential election was won by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo with 51.3 per cent having clocked 6,730,587 number of votes cast. At the Parliamentary level, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) claimed to have clinched it with a slight majority of seats as against that of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Events just before the declaration of the results were unpleasant because the NDC reiterated a number of times through press conferences that they had already won 140 seats in parliament to form the majority. This, as has been proven by the EC, was false because as of the time of that pronouncement, the party concerned had not won that number of seats to form parliamentary majority.
Meanwhile, both President Akufo-Addo of the NPP and the NDC presidential candidate, Mr John Mahama had committed themselves to a peace pact which demonstrated to Ghanaians and the world that they were prepared to promote peace before, during and after the elections.
It was, therefore, unfortunate that the NDC called on its supporters to jubilate because they had won majority of the seats in parliament. The party had earlier warned that they would resist any attempt by the EC to change the results in favour of anyone.
This caused unnecessary tension among Ghanaians who are committed to peace; for which reason some political analysts on radio and TV, appealed to Mr Mahama to desist from such pronouncements, and use constitutional means, based on available evidence, to seek redress.
Such pronouncements, to The Spectator, are divisive, dangerous, retrogressive and irresponsible and should, therefore, not be encouraged since it can lead to chaos and disturbances in various parts of the country.
Originally, the EC had announced its intention to declare the results 24 hours after voting. This was good since unnecessary delays could have been avoided to prevent tensions as had happened in some cases, in the past.
The EC rightly informed the general public that to ensure that the collation of results at the constituency and regional collation centres across the country was accurate; it had to extend its intended timeline for declaring the election results within 24 hours after voting, to a later time.
Though there were some pockets of violence in some parts of the country, generally, it would be right to say the EC has performed creditably well – seeing that its operations have been characterised by integrity, fairness and transparency.
There is no doubt that Ghana’s democracy is moving forward and that all Ghanaians should positively support the credentials we have established for ourselves, coming in a form of an enviable and admirable country that cherishes and promotes rule of law and freedom of expression as well as having established itself as a beacon of democracy to the admiration of the entire world.
Editorial
Fix railway crossing point on Circle-Kaneshie road
Dear Editor,
After the construction of the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange (Accra Dubai), Ghanaian were full of belief that it could solve at least a few of the problems drivers and commuters faced.
But currently, any regular user of the area would confirm that things have rather skyrocketed.
Sanitation is a big issue as the area. Traffic congestion has become something else while street lights and traffic lights in the area are nonfunctional.
Making matters worse is the regular traffic on the stretch of the Circle-Kaneshie caused by the bad nature of the railway crossing.
It is so bad that motorist are forced to slow down to cross from whichever direction they are coming from.
During the rainy season, it becomes worse as vehicles break down in the large pool of water that gathers at the place.
I wish to appeal to the Roads and Highways ministry or whichever agency is responsible for road maintenance to fix that part of the road.
As a result, public transport operators are forced to divert routes to avoid that area and in the process, causing commotion between drivers and passengers.
I feel that problem must be fixed before the rains set in. Thank you for the space.
Awuah Martin,
Kasoa, C/R
Editorial
Make celebration of Heritage Month compulsory
Heritage or Ghana Month is an annual event held in March to commemorate Ghana’s Independence and rich cultural heritage.
The event, which is celebrated across the country is gradually gaining momentum as schools and organisations have been patronising the event with various activities and programmes displaying Ghana’s rich culture.
Recently, in a vibrant display of Ghana’s culture students of Antoa Senior High School in the Ashanti Region joined forces with the Centre for National Culture (CNC) to launch the 2025 Ghana Month celebration.
According to our reporter, the event was a mixture of traditional cloth demonstrations, dance lessons, poetry recitals, and proverbs competitions as students and staff donned colourful traditional attires, showcasing their rich cultural heritage with infectious enthusiasm.
Some organisation like media houses were also not left out in the celebration of Ghana Month with Newscasters dressed in their traditional attires showcasing their culture while reading the news.
Such celebrations should be encouraged as one of the excited students of Antoa SHS exclaimed, “I never knew how rich our Ghanaian culture was until today. I’m proud to be Ghanaian.” This is a testimony of how the celebration will remind students of their roots and instill in them national values.
Ghana has so many cultures which are hidden and its time to make these cultures to project our rich Ghanaian culture to the outside world.
The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) should collaborate with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and Ghana Dance Ensemble to make the Ghana Month more visible in schools by organising activities to educate students on Ghanaian cultural values and norms, to promote national pride and identity.
The Spectator encourages the organisers to extend the celebration to more schools. This can be done through debates, essay writing competitions, among others to share Ghana’s rich heritage. It will help to revive the cultural spirit among the youth to become ambassadors of Ghana’ culture.
GTA must also take advantage of Ghana Month and team up with the hospitality industry such as restaurants, hoteliers, Chop Bar operators, among others to organise a traditional cuisine festival like cooking and eating competitions among organisations and associations to boost tourism in Ghana. Such competitions will give people insight into the preparations of Ghanaian local foods and drinks, and promote healthy living in families. The fashion industry should also come on board to help take Ghana Month a notch higher.
In the words of the Acting Regional Director of the CNC in the Ashanti Region, Mr Peter Kofi Marfo “Let us Wear Ghana, Eat Ghana, See Ghana, Speak Ghana, Hear and Dance Ghana, together, we’ll keep our cultural flame burning bright.”
The Spectator is hopeful that by making the celebration of Ghana Month compulsory. Ghanaians will remain committed to promoting their rich culture and heritage, for future generations.
