PRINPAG Calls for High Media Participation in the Ghana Compact Citizens’ Convention

The Private Newspapers and Online News Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) calls on its members in the country to participate in, and give high publicity to, the first ever Citizens’ Convention scheduled for June 18 – 19, 2024 from 9am-5.30pm each day, at the Cedi Conference Centre, Department of Economics, University of Ghana, Legon.

The Convention will bring together more than 500 Ghanaians representing all key stakeholder groups, including political leaders, government agencies, civil society organizations, women and youth groups, professional associations, private sector groups and university students, for dialogue and a national consensus on the country’s challenges and critical issues.

It is under the auspices of the Ghana Compact, and PRINPAG believes the initiative has the potential to secure Ghana’s economic and political transformation, and thus, deserves the maximum attention of the media.

The Ghana Compact, which is the brainchild of Dr K. Y. Amoako, Founder of the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET), was launched in December 2022 by a coalition of major policy institutes and civil society organizations in Ghana. The Compact has garnered the support of prominent Ghanaians, media partners, youth leaders and heads of key public and private institutions.

The initiative addresses some of Ghana’s most pressing transformation challenges, including constitutional reforms, national development planning, youth, education and skills, gender equality, private sector development, health, and climate change. It intends to increase democratic accountability, deepen political discourse, stem political polarization, and engage citizens in addressing these critical challenges underpinned by values such as loyalty, honesty and integrity.

Over the past two years, ACET and its partner policy institutes have undertaken numerous studies on the above issues and held several consultations with experts and opinion makers towards a consensus on the policies and actions to tackle these challenges. In collaboration with the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), citizens’ engagements at the district level also took place between March and May 2024 to obtain the views of ordinary Ghanaians on the critical issues confronting Ghana’s political and economic transformation. The engagements covered six regions and a broad cross-section of Ghanaians online.

At a culmination of these engagements, the Compact will hold two key events (the first being the Legon Convention) to form the foundation for a more issues-based election season and future governance based on mutual accountability and a collective vision for the future. The participants at the upcoming Legon Convention will pull on the analysis provided by the Ghana Compact partners and the engagement and feedback from fellow citizens to debate and adopt a Compact Declaration, which will serve as a working “Social Contract” between the citizens of Ghana and their government, irrespective of the political party in power.

This Social Contract will be presented at the Transformation Leadership Forum at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, convened by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who is also the Chancellor of KNUST. The Forum will bring together leading presidential aspirants, traditional and religious leaders, key institutions, prominent Ghanaians, opinion makers, youth leaders and students to discuss and endorse the Social Contract adopted by the Citizens’ Convention.

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