Accra , May 12, GNA – Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, Convention Peoples Party (CPP) Presidential Candidate in Election 2008 has observed that the Ghanaian youth could do a lot to deepen democracy in Africa .
He said it was the decisions the youth make to support people they believe in to become their political leaders that would help deepen democracy.
“The educated ones must seek out leaders who compete with ideas, not money. You must see political competition not as an inconsequential game, but as an important process that can make a positive difference in your lives for years to come if you make the right choices,” he added.
Dr Nduom made the observation when speaking on the theme: “Deepening Democracy in Africa – The Role of the Ghanaian Youth” at the Annual Students Representative Council/Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students Week Launch at Sunyani Polytechnic in Sunyani.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Office of Dr Nduom in Accra .
He said the young men and women must become positive activists by studying the laws, policies and programmes of governance and democratic practice – constitution, getting actively involved in choosing leaders and pressing for change to the laws and practices where necessary.
“Polytechnic students are some of the best young people we have. You have access to higher level education and opportunity to realise your dreams. Arm yourself with knowledge so that you are not dismissed as mere noise makers,” he stressed.
Dr Nduom talked about the African Union’s aim to boost development, eliminate poverty and bring Africa into the global economy and encouraged the youth to learn more about the AU through the internet as tonnes of information on the organisation could be found there.
He discussed the New Partnership for Africa’s Development or NEPAD which was a pledge by African leaders, based on a common vision and a firm and shared conviction, that they had a pressing duty to eliminate poverty and to place their countries, both individually and collectively, on a path of sustainable growth and development and, at the same time, to participate actively in the world economy and body politic.
Dr Nduom described the African Union’s African Peer Review Mechanism as a self-monitoring mechanism founded in 2003.
He said: “As Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Cooperation I stood up to signal Ghana’s willingness to be the first African country to volunteer for a peer review of its democratic and governance processes, laws and practices.”
Dr Nduom also discussed sections of the 1992 Constitution that he believes need attention in order to deepen democracy in Ghana :
He said the Directive Principles of State Policy represented the collective broad national agenda.
He noted that the problem of empowering the people at the local level had persisted because the Constitution took a big part of that power from the local people and gave it to the President.
“In our Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies we know which members are supported by a political party to get elected. We must review all of these provisions embedded in our Constitution, understand the realities on the ground and empower the people to freely associate with those they agree with and to vote for those who want to rule them.”
“In other words, the sections of the 1992 Constitution need to be amended to ensure that political parties are able to participate in local government elections and that all Metropolitan, Municipal, District Chief Executives and all Assembly Members are elected directly by the people,” he added.
Dr Nduom said: “I participate in politics so that I can influence in a positive way our society, government and people so that we can achieve our goals for development and prosperity. I want you to realise the power you carry as young people who can decide your own future and the prosperity of the country.”
GNA
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