Protecting Ghana’s democracy:  Guard free speech, rule of law – Prof. Haynes

 A Professor of Politics at the London Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom (UK), Professor Jeffrey Haynes, has under­scored the need for Ghana to safeguard elements such as freedom of speech and rule of law that make its democ­racy liberal.

He explained that although Ghana had overseen peaceful elections since it became a republic, recent reports and performance rankings by international observers showed that the elements of the country’s liberal democracy was in a decline.

According to him, it was important for Ghana as a country to find ways of pro­tecting these elements that were in a decline before it became a trend.

Prof. Haynes said this at the 19th Democ­racy and good governance (‘Kronti ne Ak­wamu’) public lecture organised by the Centre for Democratic Governance (CDD-Ghana) in Accra on Tuesday.

The public lecture, which was on the topic, “Religion and Liberal Democracy in the Fourth Republic” had in attendance various dignitaries such as the former Chief Justice, Justice Georgina Theodora Wood, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Hannah Tetteh, executive directors of civil society organisations, the spokesperson for the National Chief Imam, members of the National Peace Council and other faith-based organisations.

“I said in my lecture that there are inter­national bodies that have conducted various surveys on democracy. Ghana, over the last few years has had a significant decline in the quality of its democracy, which has been manifested in various ways such as the lack of justice for some people and the lack of freedom of speech. These are examples of [happenings in] a country where democracy is becoming less comprehensive,” Prof. Haynes said.

Touching on the role of religion in reform­ing Ghana’s democratic governance, Prof. Haynes said human qualities such as integrity and the willingness of individuals to tolerate each other and live in harmony other than only religious values were needed to enhance Ghana’s democracy.

He, therefore, urged Ghanaian and other African leaders to emulate such qualities to enhance socio-economic development in the sub-region.

Prof. Haynes emphasised the importance of ensuring that every religion in the country was given fair and equal treatment to help promote the Ghana’s liberal democracy and also acknowledged the contributions made by the various religious or faith-based organisa­tions to the country’s democratic growth.

For his part, the chairman for the occa­sion, Most Reverend Professor J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, urged the leadership of the country and the citizenry to cultivate the constructive human values that reflect the image of God.

 BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY

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