IT is no accident of history that Ghana, under its illustrious Leader and Founder, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, broke the colonial yoke on March 6, 1957 and rose to the status of the first African nation south of the Sahara to take its destiny into its own hands.
Among others, this nation has been blessed by the Almighty with visionary, selfless and dedicated leaders who, when it matters most, live up to the expectation of the people by rising to the occasion.
In the early 1990s when most parts of the African continent were still caught in the throes of military regimes and other forms of non-constitutional governance, Ghana, under former President Jerry John Rawlings, led the way to institute a multi-party democratic political dispensation to give vent to the realisation of the interests, wishes and aspirations of the people.
Along with a few African countries, including Benin and Botswana, which were the early trail blazers, this example in representative and accountable governance has blossomed and, today, almost the entire continent is practising this system of governance in which those steering the affairs of state not only derive their mandate from the people but are also accountable to them.
We will not for a moment pretend to present the Western democratic political model we are practising as one that has the attribute of infallibility or even all the answers to the interests, needs and aspirations of our people. Far from it, as no such system or act of human endeavour has as yet been unveiled.
It is only to say that against the other systems that we have practised so far, this model, on the balance of probabilities, appears better.
Ghana’s example in this endeavour particularly appears commendable, not only for the fact that it holds elections periodically (every four years) to elect a President, members of Parliament and local assembly members but, more so, because painstaking and transparent measures have been put in place to ensure that only the true will of the people in the free and fair exercise of their franchise emerges.
Indeed, this has already resulted in two change-over of governments, changes in which the incumbent parties or governments were defeated by parties in opposition, a rare phenomenon on the continent.
Therefore, in the bid to entrench our democratic dispensation, further boost our credentials as a haven of peace and stability and give way to business and investment and protect and promote the well-being of the people, we find the pledges of the government to ensure that the 2012 elections are free, fair and transparent very appropriate and assuring.
The pledge to further increase the independence of governance institutions such as the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Judiciary is particularly refreshing (see front page).
Today, there are many nations and people across the world who visit our country to imbibe the useful lessons of political and social stability we have chalked up as Ghanaians, which also lend a big boost to the nation’s stature in the eyes of the international and business communities.
Image, and a positive one at that, is hard to build and maintain and we would, therefore, urge all Ghanaians, irrespective of their political, ethnic and religious differences, as well as the difficulties and challenges we face individually and collectively, to strive to rise above these and work together to safeguard and further advance these gains.
Let us be good corporate and individual citizens with selflessness, discipline, honesty, respect for the law and the protection and promotion of the national interest being positive attributes that should inform our actions.
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