Co-Chair of the Citizens’ Movement Against Corruption (CMaC), Edem Senanu, has urged the government to take the findings of the IMANI Pulse Report seriously and act on them to help restore public confidence.
Speaking on the AM Show on JoyNews on Wednesday, September 17, Mr Senanu expressed concern over aspects of the report, particularly the data on the mass dismissal of young people, warning that it could have serious implications for governance and public perception.
“Incidentally, for me, reading the report, the March report of the dismissal struck me because it appeared to me that demographics might be a category of young people, very likely to be on social media. So after you have pursued this mass dismissal, they are at home doing nothing, and their feelings and comments will reflect this,” he said.
He noted that the 18-35 age group, which makes up almost 60% of Ghana’s population, could significantly influence the country’s political and social landscape.
“And of course, we know that demographic of 18-35 is almost 60% of our population, so they can really influence what happens going forward,” he added.
Gov’t Must Consider Restoring Unfairly Dismissed Workers
Mr Senanu advised the government to consider reinstating individuals who may have been unfairly dismissed to ease tensions and restore confidence.
“It is important that the government looks at it, whether they will indeed then, if people have been unfairly terminated, restore them, or not. It is something that we will all live to see,” he said.
He emphasised the need for authorities to treat such reports as valuable feedback.
“But I am sure for all of us in governance, we would recommend highly to the government to take all reports seriously, irrespective of whether this is indicative rather than conclusive. It is rather important to take these reports seriously and embrace them, mind the data, and take actions that begin to restore confidence,” Mr Senanu explained.
Warning on Public Perception
He cautioned that failure to address these concerns could lead to a tipping point in public perception, potentially turning citizens against the government.
“I meant the tipping point on perception; one can never actually tell. So the earlier we ensure that people are working at it, the much more good results we are likely to get as a country. And so that is what they ought to be doing,” he concluded.