John Boadu and Prof. Emmanuel Asante signing the final documents on the code of conduct for the eradication of political party vigilantism
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has refused to sign the document on the final Roadmap and Code of Conduct for the eradication of political party vigilantism.
The negotiations had been led by the National Peace Council (NPC) as part of measures to curb the menace of political vigilantism in the country.
The party claims the timing is premature for it to append a signature to such a binding document which went through a six-month drafting period.
Bizarrely, when it was time for lunch at the plush Golden Tulip Hotel, some of their representatives were seen gleefully enjoying their meal.
NDC Representatives
Alex Perceval Segbefia, a spokesperson for the party at the programme, said the NDC was setting aside for the signing of the final document and was ably backed by Abraham Amaliba, Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong, Kakra Essamuah and others.
They said the final document presented had 22 recommendations out of which four related to political parties, while 18 belong to others including the government, the National Commission for Civil Education (NCCE), the Electoral Commission (EC), civil society organizations (CSOs) and others.
“None of these is a signatory to the document we are going to sign so in effect if you look at the communiqué we have already signed with the National Peace Council, it already covers the four activities that are directly related to the political parties and we cannot be seen to be signing documents for which other parties who are playing part do not sign,” the NDC said.
They said until the other stakeholders sign, NDC as a party would not commit itself.
Open Condemnation
Interestingly, after being condemned by other stakeholders present, the NDC again said those to sign the document, including their National Chairman and General Secretary were on ‘official assignment’ and could not attend to sign.
“We are not in a position to append our signature to the document,” they said.
NPP Disappointed
However, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) represented by the General Secretary, John Boadu, and Communications Director Yaw Boabeng Asamoa expressed disappointment at the stance of the NDC after signing for the ruling party.
John Boadu said “vigilantism is a major problem that affects our body politic,” adding “what is important is for us to continue more so when a law has been passed; it is for us to get our members to know the effects of going against it.”
He said, “We believe that laws don’t resolve problems but commitment of the people in respecting the laws and making sure that the laws are respected and also enforcers of the law will also have the free hand to ensure that any deviant will be taken care of.”
Catholic Bishops
Representatives of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, Christian Council Ghana, and the Office of the National Chief Imam have supported the move to use their mediums to campaign against any political party that refuses to sign the code of conduct and abide by the law.
Very Rev. Fr. Lazarus Anondee, Secretary General of the National Catholic Secretariat, in a statement, said any party that does not demonstrate commitment to the ending of vigilantism, they (clergy) would have no choice than to use their pulpits to campaign against such parties because if it is encouraged , they are not encouraging democracy.
“I believe the signing ceremony would have demonstrated publicly that we are committed to curbing the menace of vigilantism,” he said.
“The peace council will take it on board and do something. God has been too good to us; we now have to do something for ourselves,” he added.
Chief Imam
Spokesperson of the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, said political parties want power but the generality of Ghanaians want peace.
“The peace of Ghana should not be taken for granted. We are surrounded by countries that have had terrible experiences of political turmoil and conflicts but we have been lucky but we do not know if we shall always be lucky,” he added.
Police Service
The Ghana Police Service, represented by DCOP Dr. Sayibu Gariba, Director in charge of Operations, expressed the commitment of the Ghana Police Service to ensure that the law is enforced.
Peace Council
NPC Chairman Professor Emmanuel Asante made it clear that the completion of the dialogue was not the end of the work of the NPC.
He said the signing was to demonstrate to the public that key actors were committed to disbanding vigilantism.
“We are the people who have been given the mandate to provide political leadership to our country and that we do not want that element that is becoming part of our political narrative.
“So the National Peace Council is fully aware that the political parties need the support of institutions assigned responsibilities in the roadmap to ensure the total eradication of vigilante menace in our country,” he stressed.
Peace Engagements
He said the council would engage all the institutions that had been assigned in the road map after the closure to design implementation plan, adding that its implementation does not rest on only the political parties.
Also present were representatives of the NCCE and other stakeholders.
(lindatenyah@gmail.com)
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey