“The CDD-Ghana will try as much as possible to ensure inclusivity by bringing political parties and actors, as well as all stakeholders in all activities and programmes towards achieving this objective,” she stressed.
Prof. Gadzekpo said this in a message she delivered to launch the 25th anniversary celebration of CDD-Ghana in Accra last Thursday.
It was on the theme, “Civil Society and the quest for democracy and inclusive development in Ghana and Africa: The Next 25 Years”.
Event
The event was used to outdoor a year-long calendar of activities to mark 25 years of its founding. Established in July 1998 to promote democracy, good governance and inclusive development in Ghana and the rest of Africa, CDD-Ghana has, over the last two and a half decades, given voice to ordinary citizens through its public opinion surveys and other primary research.
It has also informed and empowered local communities and citizens to demand accountability from public authorities through its social accountability programmes, among other objectives.
Prof. Gadzekpo said: “Although the organisation’s activities over the years had been characterised by some controversies, particularly when its research findings do not go in favour of political parties, it would continue to work with them to deepen the nation’s democratic dispensation.”
Grown in stature
She noted that CDD-Ghana had over the years grown in stature and influence with a clear vision to intervene in the governance space to help contribute to the growth of the country’s democracy for the benefit of all.
She said: “Today, I will say that CDD-Ghana is considered the foremost think-tank on governance issues in Ghana,” and added that “although other organisations were formed before our institution, they are not as prominent as CDD-Ghana.”
“CDD-Ghana has been at the forefront of many governance issues, particularly to make sure that there is a quality electoral democracy,” she said, stressing “one of the significant contributions of CDD-Ghana is the setting up of the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) to monitor our elections.”
She noted that there were plans to re-introduce the democratic watch, a platform for the publication of thought pieces on democracy, as well as flagged governance misbehaviours in the country.
CSOs indispensable
Dr Gadzekpo underscored the importance of civil society organisations (CSOs) because they could have a significant role to play in the governance of the country, saying “There is the need for strong CSOs in the nation to demand accountability from duty-bearers.”
She explained further that CDD-Ghana was very instrumental in advocating for the independence of the Auditor-General so that those in power and leadership positions could be held accountable in the discharge of their responsibilities.
“Undoubtedly, we need strong institutions such as CDD-Ghana to keep pressure on duty-bearers to do the right thing for the benefit of the citizenry,” she said and added that “obviously, there is a strong ethos of integrity that guides CDD-Ghana since it is important for the organisation to remain credible in its operations.”
While stressing that CDD-Ghana had come a long way with footprints nationwide, she urged the institution to be true to its mission to deepen the country’s democratic consolidation and good governance.
She added, “Over the past 25 years, CDD-Ghana has been able to demonstrate its work with integrity and we will continue to work with donors and stakeholders to ensure that the relationship with them is mutually beneficial.”