Founder and leader of National Interest Movement (NIM), Dr Abu Sakara Foster, is urging Ghanaians to demand system change now if they seriously desire to build a prosperous society for all and not just a few.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, June 16, 2020, at NIM's pre-launch media engagement event at Central Hotel in Accra, the former presidential candidate emphasised the Movement's position: "what we need is system change, not mere change of political parties and politicians out of power."
“Until we undertake the needed constitutional and institutional reforms to make our democracy functional beyond rituals of regular elections, regardless of who comes to power, we should not expect much. The system is flawed hence we have no choice but to change it to enable it serve us better," he stated.
He added: "Today, we are nearly three decades after we commenced this last democratic journey. But, one does not need any exhaustive research work to observe that the very ills of unbridled acrimonious self-serving and uncompromising adversarial politics that prevented our forefathers from obtaining their cherished collective dreams, is now preventing us and our children from living ours."
According to him, this has to do with the system of exclusion instead of inclusion that is often referred to as “winner takes all”.
"With the exception of few, many feel that they live on the periphery of any progress that our modest prosperity yields. This has led to millions of citizens losing hope in the Fourth Republican establishment and leadership," he observed.
The key elements of NIM's reform agenda the internationally acclaimed Agriculturalist shared with reporters include inclusion, devolution, accountability, decentralisation, fiscal control for growth, social reconstruction to build discipline and patriotism.