Town Hall Meeting: We won’t be silent, gov’t must tell its story

Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has defended the need for government to tout its achievements to the citizenry.

According to him, government owes it a duty to keep reminding citizens of the promises achieved so far as well as those yet to be fulfilled.

Oppong Nkrumah made the remark in defence of today’s town hall meeting in Kumasi where the government will be outlining the progress it has made so far since assuming office.

The event which will be held under the theme, “Demonstrating fulfilment of our promises” will be led by Vice, President Dr. Mahammadu Bawumia.

The town hall meeting will be followed by a Result Fair, where government’s major gains will be displayed in the form of pictures and videos.

On the Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah justified the need for the town hall meeting.

He said government will not bow to pressure from critics who try to undermine the importance of the event.

“There are a number of reasons all government over the world will have to do this. First, is to remind and communicate with the people what we have done. There are opposition parties who will say you have done nothing. No government can say that it will remain silent and hope that the people on their own volition see what the government has done. So we must always speak up and tell our story. If you do not tell your story, no one can tell your story well enough for you.”

“So, we have an obligation to tell our story. Literally, four years into our administration, we must be in the position for the people to know how far we have come,” he added.

Meeting to ensure accountability

The Information Minister, further indicated that the forum is also aimed at ensuring that the government fulfils its constitutional mandate of being accountable to Ghanaians.

“The second reason is that we are actually to account to the people. If you look at our constitution, probity and accountability are ingrained in the constitution. We must on a regular basis also update and tell the people what we have done and they will have the opportunity to agree or disagree.”

Data-driven evidence

The government had earlier indicated that today’s event will be data-driven with evidence of work done in the last three years.

“The exercise will be heavily data-driven and made available to the Ghanaian public and other stakeholders immediately afterwards. Evidence of work done will also be mounted in a Result Fair Exhibition, which will be led by the Ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation, similar to what took place in Accra some few weeks ago. Dr. Bawumia’s presentation will set the tone as a public accounting mechanism for the work done by the Akufo-Addo administration with reference to its 388 manifesto promises and commitments”,  Mr. Oppong Nkrumah added.

Objectives

Invited guests from across academia, civil society groups, political parties and the general public have been invited to participate in the Town Hall Meeting.

The Information Minister also encouraged the media to take a keen interest in the data that shows how much of the administration’s commitments have been fulfilled completely or being fulfilled within the first three years and two months of the Akufo-Addo government.

The objectives of the Government Town Hall Meeting and Results Fair are to ensure accountability in accordance with the 1992 Constitution, guarantee inclusive and participatory development and provide an opportunity for the citizenry to interact with the implementation ministries on performance and impacts of the flagship programmes.

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