Policy Research and Advocacy Civil Society Organization, SEND Ghana has come out with participatory research which can go a long way to secure election 2020 victory for any party which implements their results.
To achieve a participatory format of drafting manifestos, SEND Ghana took the initiative in ten regions to research into what the citizenry really want.
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In an interview on the Happy Morning Show with host, Samuel Eshun on Happy 98.9 FM, Country Director of Send Ghana George Osei-Akoto Bimpeh, noted that his outfit undertook the survey to know what Ghanaians really want for development and their expectations from politicians in their campaign hence, influencing their decision in the 2020 general elections.
“Upon the completion of our survey, we were able to identify three thematic areas which can be deciding factors for the upcoming 2020 general elections.”
He noted that the first need of Ghanaians was the improvement of the existing social protection initiatives and policies in the country. With over 2.4 million citizens classified as extremely poor, only about 1.6million benefit from social intervention programs. “If the political parties can show us how they will target the other half and support them adequately, they will receive the support of Ghanaians.”
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The Country Director of Send Ghana added that the targeting and provision of social interventions were not enough. He furthered that the second need running through was the reduction of poverty levels in the country. “There are the productive citizens who with the right support can transfer out of the poverty zone.” This calls for political parties to put in place realistic support programs that can help with poverty alleviation in the country.
Coupled with some other basic needs, the ordinary Ghanaian also expects all persons to equally benefit and also want some improvements done to some social interventions. ” The Ghanaian expects all public schools to benefit from the school feeding program. It is also expected of the government to improve the coverage of the National Health Insurance Scheme to include terminal diseases and drugs which come with the treatment of these diseases.” And they understand that this can be done with some heavy investments in these sectors.
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The third and most critical need SEND Ghana identified was issues relating to transparency and accountability in the execution of these social protection interventions.
“One can always hear issues of unqualified people being involved in procurement and corruption issues when it comes to the targeting of social interventions.” He disclosed that Ghanaians now need the parties to promise them the social protection will be done accordingly and devoid of partisanship politics.
He acknowledged that their findings have been presented to all political parties and groups in the country for perusal and possible adoption.
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George Osei-Akoto Bimpeh advised citizens to ensure that these policies are documented and a part of the manifestos of political parties. “If these needs are not documented, don’t believe them.”
By: Joel Sanco