Former Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo believes the country has to undertake a national conversation about how to move ahead toward economic recovery.
Ghana’s economy has lately deteriorated, prompting the government to seek $3 billion in IMF aid while launching a local debt swap scheme to obtain it.
Speaking during a public lecture commemorating Ghana’s 66th anniversary of independence, the former Chief Justice noted that the country’s growth has been uneven, while urging citizens to contribute constructively to the country’s development and economic improvement.
“As a country, our development has been checked -at times rapid, at times truncated or slowed but never entirely derailed because there has always been resilience. It could be that sometimes this resilience may be seen as apathy or cowardice or suffering quietly and hoping in the future that this too shall, and we will continue and make it better thereafter.”
“So, we have been able to survive many adversities including political instability and economic crisis. Currently, there is the need to ignite national discussion and how to forge ahead to economic prosperity”, she added.
Sophia Akuffo has expressed her displeasure with the performance of Ghana’s consecutive governments since 1992.
Both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) regimes, in her opinion, have failed to bring the country forward.
She also condemned both parties for undermining the nation’s norms and principles.
“I’ve been disappointed with every single government we have had under this Constitution. Because, after all that, we went through with the military and everything, and we centred the Constitution as the guiding principle, at least, constitutionalism should have been what should have been guiding us, but we have eroded so many standards, we’ve eroded so many principles.
“Yes, it’s not only the NPP government, as far as I’m concerned, but every government has also failed us,” the former Supreme Court Justice said.
