A convener of the #FixTheCountry protest, Oliver Barker-Vormawor says government is misinterpreting the demands of agitated Ghanaians if it is only asking protestors to be patient.
His comment comes after the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, in a press briefing, urged the citizenry to give government time as it makes efforts to make Ghanaians comfortable by providing them with life necessities.
Mr Ofori-Atta stated that the Akufo-Addo-led government is on course to fast-tracking policies to improve the livelihoods of citizens.
But reacting to this in an interview on JoyNews, Mr Barker-Vormawor said the campaign highlights what they describe as a failure on the part of successive governments to improve the lives of the citizenry.
He stated that the inadequacies such as rising youth unemployment, inefficient health systems, the skyrocketing cost of rent, poor road networks, and corruption have been getting worse despite promises by prospective leaders to solve these issues.
In his view, the #FixTheCountry protest is to drum home the deteriorating state of the nation and for rigorous action to be taken immediately.
“As far as I am concern, it is important that we stress that this is not a call for action against this government. It is a broader call that engages all segment of society.
“And it is important we understand that fixing the country is not a one-party or it is not solely a bi-partisan project, it is more than that.
“It must, in my opinion, engage the best part of what this society entails. Now, if this address was supposed to have all the answers and that all we need is patience, I think that again there is a misreading of the demands of the people,” he stressed.
#FixTheCountry has been topping social media trends for a week now.
Social media users, largely the youth, in their posts have been highlighting some of these inadequacies.
Despite efforts by government including the Nation Builders’ Corp (NABCO), National Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP) and other commitments towards investing in the growing human capital, some Twitter users say the impact is not felt on the ground.
Dominant in the sentiments shared on Twitter are rising youth unemployment, dilapidated health system, skyrocketing home-renting structure, poor road networks among others.
Coupled with corruption, erratic power and water supply, the users say the development has compounded their challenges and made life difficult for the average young Ghanaian to make a decent living.
Source : JoyNews
