Editorial
Let’s vote peacefully today
Dear Editor,
Today is December 7 and Ghanaians would be required to participate heavily in the presidential and parliamentary elections.
The aim is to give a new term to whichever party triumphs in the exercise.
Parties and their representatives have been busy in the buildup to today’s exercise with the two main political parties, ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) very confident of undoing each other.
Other political parties would also be involved in the exercise.
What I am calling for ahead of the exercise is peace. It is the responsibility of every Ghana to accept the fact that we have only one Ghana and maintaining the peace and tranquility we have enjoyed remains in our own hands.
The period to determine which group of people governs the nation is the same period for us to ensure that the peace we enjoy remains intact.
The campaigns have been very intensive with a few unfortunate comments coming from over enthusiastic politicians.
There also appears to be a mistrust in the system as every decision or move by the Electoral Commission have been fiercely questioned or rejected.
The Commission that is also supposed to be the ‘referee’ has not helped in the tension diffusion with the errors with election papers from particular regions.
All these notwithstanding, I wish to urge Ghanaians to have confidence in the institutions and vote in our numbers in a peaceful manner. No one should attempt to disrupt the process. If we go about it lawfully, we’ll have another peaceful and successful election. Yes, we can!
Mark Osae,
Accra
Editorial
Rising cost of renting in Accra worrying
Dear Editor,
It is the dream of every young adult to build and live in his or her own apartment or house and not become a tenant in another person’s house. However, such a dream looks far from becoming a reality when one considers the amount to pay to rent an apartment in the capital.
The situation has even become unbearable as the wages of most employed individuals are way lower what landlords charge.
As a young man who is not married, I always imagine getting married and live in a rented apartment with my family, and having to also pay for utility and other basic needs. That alone scares me about marriage.
In Accra, landlords take as much as GHȻ700.00 a month for an apartment with toilets and bathrooms, while some even take the same amount for single rooms without toilets and baths.
Also, one has to sometimes deal with the issue of individuals who are referred to as ‘agents’ when trying to find an apartment to rent. These agents even take monies and don’t even get their clients the type of houses they want.
We can not allow this to continue as most landlords and agents continue to extort monies from their tenants by ‘unreasonably’ increasing house rents on a monthly and yearly basis, thereby putting pressure on them.
I would like to urge the government to have a look at the rent control system of the country to ensure that tenants are not taken advantage of by landlords.
I have also seen young guys and ladies who try to move away from family houses and rent apartments because they want some privacy. My advice to such youngsters is that renting an apartment is not an easy thing, especially when you are not earning much. It is better to stay in the family house and rather save enough to get their own houses.
This is an area of concern government must take a look at and do something about it.
Atom,
Sukura
Editorial
Don’t prophesy to cause fear and panic
Dear Editor,
Curtains on the year 2024, is gradually drawing to close, with many, achieving their dreams while others hope for a better 2025.
Amidst this, churches have planned their watch night services with various themes for the night hoping to give Christians and Ghanaians at large a chance to enter the New Year with optimism.
At the service, there will prophecies or predictions for the coming year, with some causing fear and panic among the populace.
In the year 2021, the Ghana Police Service banned prophecies during 31st night services, also known as watch night services.
Such prophecies, according to the police has caused fear and panic among targeted persons
It seems churches and their leaders have forgotten about this ban, I wish to call in the police to remind the churches to enforce the ban which were mostly about the death of prominent persons in the society.
I believe this will again bring sanity into the Christianity and the society at whole