Ghana’s government has rejected a petition submitted by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) after its “Democracy Under Attack” demonstration, with Deputy Director of Operations at the Presidency Mustapha Gbande saying it does not deserve the administration’s attention.
Speaking to Joy FM on Thursday, 6 August, Gbande said the government led by John Dramani Mahama would remain focused on running the country and responding to the needs of Ghanaians rather than being drawn into opposition demonstrations.
The NPP presented its petition to the Presidency shortly before Gbande’s interview. The party’s demonstration was held under the “Democracy Under Attack” slogan.
Gbande said the fact that the protest had taken place without anyone being hurt demonstrated that democratic rights were still being protected in Ghana. He pointed specifically to the freedom to assemble and the right to express views critical of the government.
“I’ll assume that they have successfully demonstrated. Nobody is hurt. The police have been law-abiding; they protected them quite apart from their waywardness and ensured that whatever they intended had finished.”
The government official said the police had protected the protesters and allowed the demonstration to conclude. In his view, the conduct of the authorities during the event was evidence that the NPP had been able to exercise its democratic freedoms.
However, Gbande dismissed the substance of the petition delivered to the Presidency. He said it did not contain issues that warranted serious consideration and would not alter the government’s priorities.
The administration, he added, had more pressing responsibilities than spending time on a document he considered without merit.
“Let me assure you that that petition they have submitted, nobody is going to have time to read it because it doesn’t make sense, and nobody is going to waste time. We have a nation to build. We have a country to build.”
Gbande’s remarks came as the NPP sought to draw attention to its concerns through the demonstration and the accompanying petition. His response instead presented the event as an example of political freedoms being respected, while rejecting the opposition party’s submission as irrelevant to the government’s work.
He maintained that the Mahama-led administration would concentrate on governing Ghana and meeting the needs of its citizens. The government’s position, as expressed by Gbande, is that opposition-led protests should not distract it from those responsibilities.
The NPP’s petition was therefore described by the Presidency’s Deputy Director of Operations as lacking the substance required to receive the government’s attention. Despite the criticism, Gbande acknowledged that the party had been able to organise its demonstration, express its dissenting views and complete the action without injury to participants.
