CEPA warns of economic instability as political tension heightens

The Executive Director of the Center for Policy Analysis, Dr. Joe Abbey, has warned that the recurrence of heightened tension during political seasons in the country will make Ghana become politically unsafe for investor businesses.

According to him "if we raise tensions in the country, we are raising the cost of being in Ghana and doing business in Ghana."

Speaking on an Accra-based radio station Citi FM, Dr. Abbey asked, “who wants to come to our country to buy their own security to protect themselves?”

He bemoaned that the heightened tensions in the country does not make the country hospitable to investors, and added that, "this is not just foreign investors but to ourselves as well".

According to him, from Ghana's independence up until now, "we have developed a culture of violence when it comes to elections and these things impact greatly on the economy".

He said "unless we the civil society assures ourselves and the world that nobody is going to get away with it, then politicians will not take the people for a ride or hold onto power and make vague promises when the national resources are at their disposal".

He said politicians must be told by the people to stop it and that will be the only way we are going to save ourselves and the economy.

"We should tell the politicians that we would not have it. We would not have this type of lack of respect for the ordinary Ghanaian. We would not have political opponents turning people into enemies that must be vanquished."

Story by Dennis Nii Lantey Lawson/Xfm95.1/Accra/Ghana