National Union of Ghana Students speak out
The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) at a centra committee meeting held last November issued the document below which tackles some major issues confronting Ghana in the three year rule of the Peoples National Defence Council, PNDC.The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) have called on the PNDC to allow Ghanaians to elect and be elected freely in a lasting democratic era. This follows their caution to the government against the temptation to impose a political system which the people of Ghana will most certainly reject. The Students advised the present rulers not to forget so soon the lessons of the abortive attempt to introduce a Union Government and reminded them of the verdict the people delivered in the 1978 referendum.
These views on the state of the nation were contained in a document adopted at the last Central Committee meeting of NUGS held at Winneba last November. The document signed by Arthur Kennedy, NUGS president was not immediately released to the public while the students, whose previous call for a return to democracy was met with beatings, arrests and closure of the universities, sought audience first with the government to discuss its contents.
Having failed in this approach the NUGS released to the public what they refer to as their Declaration on the State of the Nation, excerpts of which are reproduced below:
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Our educational system is in its death throes and unless we are prepared to progressively commit national resources to this most vital sector, we run the very real risk of replacing our system, albeit an imperfect one, with none at all. We view with increasing disappointment, the teacherless and tableless public first cycle schools.
We remind ourselves with feelings of nausea, of the way the results of our West Africa School Certificate examinations have been getting worse every year. We view with profound disappointment the apparent determination of this government to preside over the collapse of our higher institutions. Inadequate subventions, deteriorating facilities and a rapidly diminishing staff combined with an indifferent government is bound to lead our system to destruction.
We urge the adoption of immediate and positive steps that will reverse this trend, and relieve the underpaid working and farming people of the burden of their wards' education.
We cannot help wondering why three years after the inception of a revolution, one of whose pillars is supposed to be social justice, some functionaries of the former administration are still in jail without any charges being preferred against them.
Since justice delayed is justice denied, we urge that immediate steps be taken to restore those concerned to their families if there are no charges against them.
This era of two judicial systems with separate heads, meting out separate justices has been rather bewildering and confusing. Since the tribunals have also very convincingly demonstrated the weaknesses of the normal courts, we urge that they should be immediately integrated with the normal courts to ensure that there is only one scale of justice.
On the economic situation, despite all the international applause being given the government, there is very little happening on the ground that makes life easier for the people. The rather rigorous application of the IMF conditionalities has led to continuous stepwise devaluation that create phenomenal increases in the prices of imported items.
The government, in an effort to generate income is recklessly taxing everybody and selling its wares at prices that make us wonder whether "Kalabule" has now been elevated to the ranks of government. We wish to express our strong disapproval of the present rates of water and electricity and demand that they should be brought within the reach of the ordinary men and women
On the agricultural front, the profundity of the dichotomy between government pronouncements and action was dramatically demonstrated when after a lot of noise about a "green revolution", the people of this nation, reacting to the crushing hunger that they experienced last year produced a lot of food only for us to realise that there were no facilities to store most of the food. Obviously, we need more action and less talk in that area.
On the political situation, we note with disappointment that nearly one year after the PNDC Chairman pledged that there would be democratisation of the revolution, nothing substantive has happened. While every effort is made by government functionaries to explain the political situation to outsiders, the majority of Ghanaians are sti confused about the political direction of the nation.
We note with misgivings the introduction of the concept of a Electoral Commissioner who is a member of the executive and wonder whether when he really gets down to business, he can lay claims to impartiality.
Recently, there have been pronouncements by some members of government which have tended to create the impression that the people have decided to abandon the party political system. We feel that if this is the government's intention, then it should pause to take counsel from history.
We wish to caution them against the temptation to impose a political system on the nation.
As a nation, we should not forget so soon the lessons of the abortive attempt to introduce the Union Government and the verdict the people delivered in the 1978 referendum.
We urge the PNDC to publicly make known to the people of Ghana its proposals on the political future of the nation. After that the people should be allowed to take their destiny into their own hands, elect and be elected freely to lead and be led in a lasting democratic era.
We reiterate our disappointment with a majority of the press and urge that they should strive to be an all- weather TWO-WAY road between the government and the people instead of the present ONE-WAY from government to the people.
Finally, we strongly express our disapproval of the chronic apathy and disillusionment that is gradually engulfing our people and urge identifiable groups and organisations to resume their role as constructive critics of national institutions and figures. It is as an example in this direction that we present this nation with this historic document that we hope, will inspire our countrymen into acting to pursue our best interests.
