The Member of Parliament for North Tongu has called on Ghanaians to pay attention to the contents of the 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released by the United States Department of State.
Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa stated that the report released on April 12, 2022, contains a “depressing and grim findings” about Ghana.
In a Facebook post, Mr. Ablakwa indicated that this unpleasant situation must be of great worry to all Ghanaians.
“The ‘2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices’ presents the most damning and gloomy verdict on Ghana in recent memory, and we must collectively resolve to genuinely fix the mess and urgently repair the damage to our international image,” he wrote.
The latest Country Reports on Human Rights Practices highlight issues including; denial of fair public trial, corruption and lack of transparency in government, arbitrary deprivation of life and other unlawful or politically motivated killings.
The others are freedom of expression, including for members of the press and other media and elections and political participation.
The North Tongu MP further bemoaned the lack of attention given to the many issues raised, by the media.
He noted that it is worrying that focus has been shifted to a general election which is due in the next two years instead of the country’s present governance shortfalls.
“I am terribly surprised that since the launch of this globally acclaimed report, which is nearing five decades of annual publications, the Ghanaian media has not given any attention to its content. Instead, the over flogged focus has been on reports predicting who wins the next election — an election more than two years away.”
“Electoral victories are worthless if they do not lead to democratic, economic and social victories,” he posted.
Mr Ablakwa, therefore, urged that Ghanaians shift their attention to addressing governance challenges by demanding accountability from the government.
“I hope this widely considered credible and brutally frank external independent assessment of the state of our country leads us to demand accountability from all our leaders — be they in the legislature, judiciary or executive, and therefore, making us commit as patriotic citizens to a much higher standard that unleashes the full potential of our beloved country,” the MP wrote.
