Mrs Jean Mensah, Executive Director, IEA, speaking at the launch of the "I want to know" campaign in Accra. Picture: SAMUEL TEI ADANO

IEA launches ‘I want to know’ campaign

Samuel Tei Adano Politics Sep - 20 - 2016 , 08:57 2 minutes read

The Executive Director of the Institute of the Economic Affairs (IEA), Mrs Jean Mensa, has launched an initiative dubbed "I want to know" campaign to promote good governance and strengthen the pillars of democracy in Ghana.

The Initiative

The launch, which is a collaboration between the IEA and Borax, a Ghanaian Hiplife musician, is aimed at giving the electorate the opportunity to put question to presidential candidates who wish to lead the country on possible policies they have for the country.

The artist was chosen because his song depicted lyrics that required the electorate to demand the reasons and ways candidates could help advance the development of Ghana, as well as make policies that would push the country forward.

" We are aware of the political parties’ eagerness and preparedness to mount political platforms to inform the electorate about their vision, mission and how they wish to manage the economy when given the chance to lead the country," she stated.

Aim of the campaign

She further mentioned that the campaign, which started a couple of weeks ago with floats and interaction with Ghanaians, was to promote citizens’ ownership of the electoral process and encourage them to send in questions they wish to ask presidential candidates and their running mates if they could speak to them directly.

Mrs Mensah further asked political parties that wish to lead the nation to open themselves up for such platforms to interact with Ghanaians about their policies and plans to take the nation to another level of development and provide hope for Ghanaians.

"As Ghana's Premier Public Think Tank, we are devoted to the promotion of good governance, as well as provide a level playing field for all political parties to share their thoughts with the people," she added.

Background

Mrs Mensah noted that this year marked the fifth consecutive year the IEA had held Presidential debates in the country which had broaden participation in the political structure.

She noted that this had enhanced political debate and given the electorate the opportunity to choose between who was fit and ready to serve Ghanaians.

Mrs Mensa, however, urged Ghanaians to submit their questions through the following channels: Facebook:IEA Ghana, Twitter: @IEAGhana, and Email: election2016@ieagh.org.