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The General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Reverend Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, has called for a shift from the fear of violence during elections to the fear of electing non-performers into power.

He said the progress or retrogression of the nation was determined by the kind of people who were given the mandate to lead Ghana, hence the citizenry must vote for leaders who would ensure the  country’s development.

Rev. Dr Opuni-Frimpong made that call at the launch of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation’s (GBC) “Ghana wins election 2016” project at Dodowa in the Greater Accra Region on Thursday.
He said most people sought to live in a country where their livelihoods could be secured and enhanced.

The reverend minister, therefore, called for investment in the energy and resources sector to address the fear of whether the right candidate would be elected or not.

He also charged the media to promote issue-based discussions, adding that journalists have the power to educate and influence voters’ demand issue-based campaigns and, subsequently, move towards electing candidates who have sound and realistic developmental agenda for Ghana.

He urged the media to blacklist any politician or individual who failed to engage in an issue-based campaign.

The project

In her welcome address, the acting Director-General of GBC, Mrs Francisca Ashietey-Odunton, said GBC had secured $65,000 from Star-Ghana to facilitate the coverage of the 2016 general election.

She also said the “Ghana wins election 2016” project aimed at ensuring the credibility of the election and called for a holistic approach to ensure peaceful election.

For his part, the Project Manager, Mr Ebenezer Ampaabeng, said the project was the company’s comprehensive programme of activities lined up for the coverage of this year’s election.

He explained that it was a good mix of programmes on voter’s awareness, pro-peace and gender and social inclusion that would contribute to the nation achieving a peaceful, inclusive and transparent election.

He added that the cornerstone of the project was promoting  pro-peace election campaigns for national cohesion and development, voter education to reduce the number of rejected ballot papers, coverage of the electioneering campaigns, as well as reporting on authentic results in a timely manner. 

The Programme Manager of STAR-Ghana, Mr Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu, said $2.6 million was allocated to 35 organisations, including nine media houses, to ensure a peaceful election.

GBC lauded

The President of the Ghana Journalists Association, Mr Roland Affail Monney, lauded the state broadcaster for the initiative.

He said the project would guide choices at the poll, solidify the community and also promote peace before, during and after the election.