The Executive Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development-Ghana CDD-Ghana, Professor Kwasi Prempeh, has stated that civil society organisations (CSOs) and other stakeholders have advanced inclusive development, good governance, rule of law and democracy.
“Our commitment, dedication and determination to work with other stakeholders including the media has advanced good governance, democracy, rule of law and democracy hence the existence of the Fourth Republic for 30 years,” he stressed.
Prof. Prempeh noted that without such collaboration much impact would not have been made to advance inclusive development, democracy, good governance and rule of law and called for sustenance of the collaboration to advance progress, growth and development of the country.
Speaking at the launch of the 25 years anniversary of CDD-Ghana,an independent, not-for-profit research and advocacy think tank, which signified the collaboration between civil society and the media, which shared a common ancestry, he said “since 1993, we have known that the things we do, whether at the CDD, or Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) or Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), without the media, we could not actually really make much of an impact.
“Similarly, media organisations in performing their functions, have relied on civil societies because they are both non-state actors ensuring checks and balances in the governance system, especially in the Fourth Republic however, our democracy is extremely lopsided and there are virtually no credible checks on governmental power,” Prof. Prempeh contended.
Touching on the current hung parliament, he explained that although it was the first in the history of the Fourth Republic, it had not succeeded in countervailing Executive powers which the CDD-Ghana had long recognised within the governance space, there was little that checked governmental excesses.
Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, Board Chairperson of CDD-Ghana, observed that the symbiotic relationship between the media and democracy was the same relationship existing between civil society organisations and the media and there could not be one without the other.
She added that the media had been fundamental and transformational to the Fourth Republic saying “when you see free media, there is likely to be democracy and when there is no free media, there is no democracy with same for civil society”.
