Professor Karikari criticizes political parties for putting votes ahead of combating illegal mining
Former Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Professor Kwame Karikari, has criticized Ghana’s major political parties for neglecting the critical issue of illegal mining (galamsey) due to concerns about losing votes in the upcoming December 7th elections.
“For the ninth time, Ghanaians are preparing to vote in the 4th Republic to elect a president and parliamentarians. The major political parties, along with some new entrants, are vying for votes, but what do they truly promise about the nature and character of democracy in the 4th Republic?” Prof. Karikari questioned.
He made these comments during the inaugural public lecture honouring the late human rights lawyer Akoto Ampaw, who passed away a year ago.
The event took place on Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at the University of Ghana, organized by Friends of Akoto Ampaw in collaboration with the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and the Institute of African Studies.
The lecture, titled “The Problems of Ghana’s 4th Republic,” included discussions on “The Crisis of Civic Citizenship in Contemporary Ghanaian Democracy: Lessons from the Life and Times of the Late A. Akoto Ampaw.”
Prof. Karikari emphasized the unwillingness of political parties to confront significant issues during election campaigns. “Political parties avoid addressing critical topics like galamsey because they fear losing votes, as many of their leaders and financiers benefit from it,” he said. He also raised concerns about the state of Ghana’s democracy, asking, “I’m sure we all have many questions about the democracy of the 4th Republic.”
