The STAR-Ghana Foundation, a prominent centre for active citizenship and philanthropy, has embarked on a nationwide initiative aimed at gathering the concerns and priorities of citizens to inform the manifestos of political parties for the upcoming 2024 general elections.
This consultative exercise serves as a platform for citizens to voice their challenges regarding access to quality public services in vital sectors such as health, education, and social protection, with the intention of influencing the content and direction of political party manifestos.
The inaugural session of town hall meetings, held in Cape Coast, brought together a diverse array of stakeholders including students, civil society organizations (CSOs), fishers, traditional leaders, and workers from the Central, Western, and Western North Regions. Participants were given the opportunity to articulate their priorities and pressing concerns.
In the domain of healthcare, participants highlighted various issues such as the unequal distribution of specialists, inadequate medical equipment in some facilities, the exodus of nurses, and challenges within the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Mr Caesar Kaba Kogozi, a health consultant, underscored the need for increased investment in training doctors and specialists, proposing the redirection of nursing trainee allowances to this end. Participants also advocated for the completion of ongoing health projects, the establishment of regional hospitals in every region, and the utilization of the COVID-19 levy to enhance and expand the NHIS.
Concerns regarding the education system were also raised, including insufficient teaching and learning materials, poor infrastructure, and the lack of schools for the deaf and blind. Mr. Kofi Asare, Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, urged political parties to address the educational disparities between rural and urban areas, emphasizing the need for equitable resource allocation. Participants suggested implementing a cut-off point for entry into Senior High School (SHS) to incentivize learning and called for the expansion of technical education to provide students with practical skills.
Dr. Ernestina Tetteh, Project Manager of STAR-Ghana, advocated for increased budgetary allocations to social protection programs such as school feeding, Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), and the NHIS. She emphasized the importance of adequately funding these programs to ensure their effectiveness.
Madam Eunice Rachael Abegbenyadzi, Head of Programmes at STAR-Ghana Foundation, highlighted the significance of political party manifestos as tools for development and policy direction. She pledged to collate the information gathered from citizens and present it to the manifesto drafting committees of key political parties, including the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to inform their policy decisions.
Mr. Selete Nyomi, Executive Director of Coastal Television, a project partner, called for the decentralization of ministries to decongest Accra and promote regional growth. He proposed leveraging modern technology, such as virtual meetings, to facilitate effective governance without the need for physical presence in the capital.