New Year message from the Social Justice Movement of Ghana (SJMG)

The Social Justice Movement of Ghana, on behalf of its membership in Ghana, wish to extend warm greetings and well wishes to all Ghanaians for the New Year. We hope that developments this year will inure to the general wellbeing of all citizens. As eventful and uncertain as the year 2020 has been, it has taught us many lessons not only of relevance to Ghana but to the entire world.

The year 2020 has clearly demonstrated the need to build a society that works for all and protects the poor; a society where hospitals are available and well equipped in every nook and cranny of the country or globe for that matter. Ghanaians had a taste of how a socialist society might look like with the introduction of free water, 50% reduction of electricity tariff for life-line consumers and the feeding of vulnerable groups. The year also showed us how far the nation can go if we work together for the common good of every citizen. What a delight it was to see Ghanaians sharing with the poor to enable everyone cope with the effects of COVID-19.

However, government’s effort to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic left much to be desired. Many health facilities still did not have simple Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for key front-line staff thereby exposing health workers to danger. COVID-19 also highlighted the social inequalities in our society. The University of Ghana Medical Centre appeared reserved for the political elite, the rich and powerful while the majority of ordinary COVID victims struggled in health centres with barely enough ventilators.

During the year 2020, the political atmosphere suggested that the political elite were desperate to cling on to power. First there was the compilation of a new voters’ register and the disputes as to whether it was necessary or not.

The show of force in the Volta region was initially presented as an attempt to control COVID-19. This later changed to a desire to prevent non-Ghanaians from registering. There were also the party parliamentary primaries conducted as if the nation was not confronting a Covid-19 pandemic.

The open vote buying pointed to a desperate political elite willing to use money to buy votes. And finally, there were the December 7^th elections which though passed off peacefully during the actual voting process, turned bloody at the critical stage of collation of results. International newspaper reports on Ghana’s elections reported the Ghana Police Service as recording 60 violent incidents on the day of voting. According to the UK Independent Newspaper of 9^th December, "Twenty-one of the incidents are true cases of electoral violence, six of which involve gunshots resulting in the death of five”.

Several results were contested and are still being contested. There is a petition by the National Democratic Congress currently before the supreme court and the Attorney General has sought an order of certiorari at the Supreme Court, slated for the 4^th of January 2020, to set aside a Ho Magistrate Court’s injunction on the election of John Peter Amewu as member of parliament for the Hohoe North constituency. All these point to the limitations of the winner-takes-all electoral system and the fundamental weaknesses in the 1992 constitution which was the subject of the work of the constitutional review commission set up in January 2010 but whose recommendations are yet to see the light of day.

SJMG condemns the loss of lives during the 2020 elections. We call on the government to immediately set up a committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the killing of innocent Ghanaians, apprehend those who did the shooting and let justice prevail. We must not allow impunity to gain roots. The presence of armed personnel at some polling stations and compilation centres is unacceptable. We want to build a society in which the citizenry is free to vote for whom they want, and weapons undermine the free expression of people’s will. Only Ghana’s police are mandated to ensure security during elections and the deployment of weapons must not be part of our electoral process.

We equally condemn the ways, in which violence was justified by the ruling government and its cronies. The fact that there is a previous history of violence, during elections supervised by the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) is no justification for the perpetuation of violence. We want to build a fair and just society, where wrongs in the past are not repeated.

We cannot end this statement without calling on the government and security forces to expedite investigations and bring to justice all those who were responsible for the loss of lives in the period leading up to the elections. The murder of Ekow Quansah Hayford, MP for Mfantseman Constituency on October 9^th remains unsolved. Similarly, the murder of Ahmed Suale an investigative journalist and subsequent threats to other journalist remain serious threats to our democracy. We also call on the security forces to apprehend and deal with those who use the media to spread hate and create conducive conditions for violent attacks especially on journalists. These actions breed insecurity and violence in the country.

For the Social Justice Movement of Ghana, the year 2021 should be a turning point for the country to look at its governance system and its electoral processes. The root cause of violence is the dominance of two political parties – the NDC and the NPP – and their desperation to hold on to power at all cost. Our woes are also rooted in the limitations of the 1992 constitution.

A new party, the Progressive Alliance for Ghana (PAG) shall be entering Ghana’s political space this year with a determination to end the NPP/NDC hegemony and promote social and economic justice for all Ghanaians. During the recent elections, large sections of the Ghanaian people indicated their yearning for an alternative to the existing two parties in Ghana.

We wish to use this opportunity to inform the public that we are working with similar-minded individuals and organisations to develop and build a party that truly represents the interest of the people. We want to build a new party whose representatives will win elections by their deeds not just their empty promises supported by financial and material inducements. PAG will belong to the people and will work with them rather than wait during an election year to buy votes. It shall be a party led by people genuinely committed to the cause of our people and determined to promote social justice.

Long Live Ghana, Long live the ideals of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah - Happy New Year!!!!

Signed by:

Linda Anaaba

Yen Nyeya

Hillary Adongo

Phanuel Ayawli