Diaspora News of Friday, 25 July 2014

Source: Afrikan Post

Ghanaians Against Bad Gov't in Washington DC

As early as 8.30am on Wednesday, July 23, 2014 there was hardly any place to park around the Ghana Embassy in Washington DC as Ghanaians from various cities and states along the east coast geared up to protest against the policies of the Mahama administration in Ghana that has resulted in untold hardship among the people of Ghana. About 150 young men and women stood behind a barricaded fence in front of the Embassy in Washington beating drums , singing and demonstrating with placards some of which read, : The President must start working” , Mr. President enough is enough !!!!”, “ We need our Ghana back ” Various leaders took turns to address the fired up protestors most of whom wore black T shirts with the inscription “Arise !! Speak Up, Speak up for Ghana “ One of the leaders read out loudly issues of concern in Ghana which included the high levels of corruption by government officials, Inability to stabilize the exchange rates , unprecedented rates at which businesses are failing, poor oversight , neglect and incompetence on the part of the John Mahama Administration.

The Ghanaians against Bad Governance (GABG) demonstrators were united with a common message “We demand responsive and responsible governance to alleviate the plight of the good people of Ghana.”

After about four hours of demonstration, the leaders of the group were allowed into the Embassy compound to present their petition to the chargé d'affaires of the Ghana Embassy in the absence of a substantive Ambassador for onward transmission to the President of Ghana.

Mrs. Amma Twum-Amoah, the Head of the Chancery received the petition on behalf of the Government of Ghana and assured the group that since the petition was addressed to the President she would make sure it reaches his office. She also expressed her appreciation to the leaders being Mr. Kwaku Boateng, Lawyer Acolatse and Ms. Sally Sarpong for ensuring that the demonstration was a peaceful one.

Ghanaians Against Bad Governance is a non-partisan group of concerned Ghanaians living in the United States of America, who are interested in the economic and social well being of Ghana. It is a diverse group of nonprofessionals, professionals and academics who believe that the Government of Ghana has a responsibility to deliver on their own promises, and that they should not wait for the next election cycle to raise our voices to demand that their leaders work in the interest of the good people of Ghana.