Fifi Kwetey, the general secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and his entourage paid a courtesy call on the executive committee of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA), capping their media tour.
The General Secretary made a strong appeal to the GJA and, by extension, other institutions during the tour to live and conduct themselves in accordance with their values and standards and to fight any attempts to turn them into pawns of any political party.
He lamented the current plight of numerous failing institutions, which in his view were a factor in the nation’s deteriorating economic situation.
He continued, “The central bank is meant to be a completely independent institution, but at this point, they have turned into an appendage of the ruling government; this is what has brought us into extremely tough problems.
In addition, he criticized the electoral commission’s decision to limits voter registration to district capitals, which is currently controversial in the eyes of many political parties, pressure groups, and well-meaning Ghanaians.
According to him, this decision will deny the right to vote to many Ghanaians who may not be able to afford to go far to the capital of their district in order to register.
He made a point of restating the NDC’s commitment to creating more robust institutions.
“As a political party, we believe when institutions are strong, the country gets stronger. It’s the truth that political parties want institutions to be under their thumb for their benefit, but we must resist that urge,” he stated.
On his part, the GJA president Albert Dwumfour lauded the visit by the NDC, thanked them for being the first political party to pay a courtesy call on the institution and pleaded for political parties to see journalists as their development partners and not enemies.
Mr. Dwumfour said, “The attack on journalists by politicians has become very rampant and we hope to collaborate with you to let you know that the media is your partner in nation development.
“We need to see ourselves as partners and not enemies,” he stated.
Source: myjoyonline
