Conveners of #FixTheCountry protests are angry at successive gov'ts - Ken Ofori Atta
- The Finance Minister believes the #FixTheCountry protests is driven at “successive governments”
- Ken Ofori Atta in an address to the media called on protestors to bear with government
- The #FixTheCountry, #FixMotherGhana protest has gone online after an injunction by the High Court
Government seems to have shifted the anger of conveners of the #FixTheCountry protests to successive governments and not the Akufo-Addo administration.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, addressed the media on May 9 over the #FixTheCountry protests saying what conveners are angry about is “a failure on the part of successive governments to improve the lives of the citizenry”.
Source: Facebook
According to Ken, Ghanaians must understand that the current economic woes of the country is due to the effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic which government is working to deal with.
“I acknowledge that these are challenging times for many of us, and we, like almost all the countries in the world, are living through rough weather. A time that has put a burden on the necessities of lives and livelihoods never like before in recent history. Unfortunately, these external shocks have heightened Ghana’s perennial problems, which we are committed to address,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the information minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has indicated that the views by a section of the Ghanaian public that the culture of silence is virtually creeping back into the country cannot be correct.
He questioned how a country with over 500 vibrant media houses operating can be said to be silence.
At a media engagement to end his tour of the five regions of the north in Tamale Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the reality was that those were making the claims were rather uncomfortable when what he have said is responded too.
“This claim that there is culture of silence in this country cannot be true, this is a country with about 500 radio stations, 100 television stations, millions of social media accounts and everybody is freely expressing themselves”.
"What some persons cannot stand is that when they express their thoughts and other people disagree, then they claim you are silencing them. Respectfully, that is the beauty of our democracy that I will have my say, and you can disagree with me” Mr. Nkrumah stated.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah noted that the kind of narrative the media carry about the country are the ones that will be used by the international community to grade the country.
He said the reality is that government is doing a lot to deepen the freedom of expression and freedom of the media.
He said the Kufuor government repeal the criminal libel law and the current government has moved it two notch up by passing the right to information act and the setting up of the office to coordinate the safety of journalists in the county.
The Information Minister called on the media to apart from holding duty bearers accountable the media should promote the great potential of the country and its regions.
In other stories
A supporter of the #FixTheCountry and #FixMotherGhana online protests has dropped a receipt from payment he made for a bowl of Fufu which had him paying taxes of 20 cedis.
The supporter, with Twitter handle, @lips_pi decried the high taxes calling on authorities to #FixTheCountry.
Source: Twitter
Posting his receipt shows he had bought Fufu from Nududu Restaurant and Bar. The Bowl of Fufu included Tuna, Light Soup, Malta Guinness, Snail, Cow meat, full salmon, goat meat, crab, ebonebunu soup, goat light soup and a bottle of mineral water.
The concerns regarding taxes follows the introduction and coming to force of the 1 percent Covid-19 levy which took effect from May 1.
There has been heavy police presence at the Black Star Square and other principal streets of Accra. This is to enforce an injunction by the High Court against the #FixTheCountry protest which was to happen on May 9.
The deployment of the police force, according to the Ghana Police Service is to enforce the ruling and ensure that Covid-19 protocols are duly observed across the country.
This injunction effected by the High Court, has had convener of the protest, instruct supporters to demonstrate via social media and in their home and communities.
Conveners have also advised protested across the country to hoist placards at vantage points in their respective communities and hoist placards to register their displeasure.
Meanwhile, Convener of the #FixtheCountry movement, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has alleged that government is unlawfully monitoring the phone records of one of the prospective protesters; a suspicion the group believe began when they were tricked into a meeting with sector ministers to discuss the planned protest.
So far, government has maintained it is "fixing" the country with various projects and policies under the Nana Akufo-Addo administration. The Vice president in his Facebook post, listed a wide range of projects being undertaken and already complete to as it where, reduce the burden on the ordinary Ghanaian
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Source: YEN.com.gh
