The Coordinator of Youth Speak Up (YSU) Project, Clement Boateng has entreated Ghanaian youth and youth related civil society organisations to pay particular attention to sections of the political parties’ manifestoes that deal with youth development and question the feasibility of implementing such proposed interventions.
He said it would be prudent for youth CSOs to show interest in the manifestos of political parties and flag sections on youth development that are not practicable since most of the policy issues and interventions targeted at the youth by current and past governments referred to their manifestos.
Mr Boateng made the call at the sidelines of the civic engagement forum organized over the weekends at Wapuli by community journalists and listeners club members in the Saboba District, trained under the Youth Speak Up project.
Youth Speak Up project seeks to develop competences of youth reporters to support active citizenship and engagement of communities in Kumbungu, Karaga and Saboba Districts and Savelugu-Nanton Municipality. The project is being implemented jointly by Youth Empowerment for Life (YEfL), Rural Media Network (RUMNET), HOPin Academy with funding support from Danish Ingathering and Danida through Ghana Venskabsgrupperne (GV) in Denmark.
He implored presidential and parliamentary contenders for the 2016 elections to be moderate in their campaign promises to minimize expectations of electorate after the elections.
He noted that “the wild promises of politicians is increasingly causing voter apathy among Ghanaian electorate”, explaining that unfulfilled campaign promises eventually result to disappointment which serves as breeding ground for voter apathy, especially when the electorate feel they are being taken for a granted.
Campaign promises of politicians remain one of the overriding factors of choices the Ghanaian electorate make during elections, the YSU Coordinator observed. According to him, the Ghanaian voters are discerning and can easily read between realistic and unachievable goals, and thus “there is no need promising them heaven on earth.”
Mr. Boateng reminded politicians to be mindful of resource constraints and commit to realistic promises that could be fulfilled to strengthen the electorate’s trust in the electoral system being the mostly accepted democratic exercise to select nation’s leadership.
Four of the parliamentary candidates contesting for the Saboba seat in the 2016 elections affirmed their resolution for peace before, during and after the December elections
They promised to conduct decorous campaigns devoid of tendencies that could trigger conflict in the constituency and advised their followers to refrain from violent acts before, during and after the elections.
Present at the event were the former Local Government Minister under the Kufuor led-government, Mr. Charles B. Bintin representing the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Adam Abdullah for Progressive People’s Party (PPP), Nkikinah Jalulah and Nakoja K. Samuel, both independent candidates. The incumbent Member of Parliament, Joseph Bukari, who initially promised to be part of the event, could not make it because he had to respond to a national call.
Some residents of Wapuli community took turns to subject the development plans and strategies of the candidates to scrutiny as they sought clarifications on how issues the deplorable roads and fallen standards of education in the area could be addressed. Others expressed worry about slow pace of work on the water project compelling them to compete with their livestock on water from unwholesome sources.
African Eye Report
