Opinions of Tuesday, 6 February 2024

Columnist: Albert Dodoo

The presidential debate is back - Ghana Votes 2024

2024 is going to be a decisive year for Ghanaians, and this is because Ghana’s populace has become so polarised that observers in the diaspora and the international community at large are wondering if democracy could prevail for a country that prides itself as the beacon of peace in Africa.

West Africa has over the past couple of years witnessed a series of Coup d'etat which seem to have bankrollers of African economies sitting on the edge when it comes to the election years on the African continent, and that is because various African leaders have exhibited blatant corrupt administrations that seem NOT to have answers to curb the intolerable practices that promote corruption and tyranny in high offices across the continent.

Ghana can’t be an exception nor immune to coup d’etat, and with the various documented corruption scandals, to cutthroat thievery by government appointees and ministers, as well as a web of corrupt family and friends consortiums that have been well documented by Loudsilence TV and other local media houses, it becomes difficult to rule out the possibility of a coup d'état, as has been speculated over and over by several social media personalities.

Today, several media houses have turned a blind eye to holding the government accountable to the very people who voted them into power, so much so that, the tradition of putting a panel of presidential hopefuls together for a debate, has thanks to Nana Akufo-Addo been discarded since he was scared of facing the then presidential hopefuls in 2016.

Ghanaians in the diaspora, are calling for the Presidential Debate to be brought back so Ghanaians can have the opportunity to listen to the vision these Presidential hopefuls have for our beloved country. In a recent communique, it became clear that Ghanaians in the diaspora with hard currency investor portfolios are holding back their investment dollars until they become certain that parameters for a free and fair election have been activated. Some Hedge Fund managers interested in the Ghanaian economy have all expressed that such a debate can truly help in their decision-making process that could bring innovative interventions into Ghana, which would create jobs and livelihoods that can make life meaningful for the people of Ghana.

The credibility of the media houses in Ghana is questionable, however, the Diaspora Development Network is recommending a handful of media houses that seem credible enough to hold an unbiased debate and would like to urge these media houses to start putting together a forum for this debate before the 2024 elections along with input from Info Analytics.

Ghana’s survival could depend on this debate, so let’s start the dialogue for the debate.