Star-Ghana supports initiatives to promote peaceful election
An amount of $2.6 million has been disbursed to 35 institutions in the country to support initiatives to promote peaceful and credible elections this year.
The initiative is also meant to assist the institutions in promoting issues-based and inclusive governance in the 2016 general election.
Out of the beneficiary institutions, nine are media houses while the remaining are civil society organisations (CSOs).
The fund is under the project of Strengthening Transparency, Accountability and Responsiveness in Ghana (STAR-Ghana), a multi-donor funded programme supported by DFID, DANIDA, and the EU.
This forms part of the phase two of the STAR-Ghana Election 2016 Call which seeks to rely on the efforts of the organisations as partners to promote peaceful and fair elections this year.
Media a critical partner
Launching the project in Accra last Thursday, the Programmes Manager of STAR-Ghana, Mr Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu, said the media’s role in this year’s election was critical.
He, therefore, implored the media to constantly partner with civil society groups in the country to promote peace before, during and after the election.
“Collaboration from grant partners is worthy of emulation as this will enhance the peace that the nation continuously enjoys,” he said.
He charged the organisations to ensure that they provided value for money in whatever they did.
Since Ghana is in the lower-middle income status, Mr Amidu stated that this might be the last time such a funding by STAR-Ghana would take place, hence “the need for other groups and organisations to come together to emulate such a worthy cause”.
NMC to spread tentacles
Expressing appreciation for the grant, a member of the National Media Commission (NMC), Dr Doris Dartey, said it would enable the commission to extend and expand its tentacles to many parts of the country.
She explained that the NMC would form advisory committees in five regions to increase media standards by way of collaborating with key stakeholders in those areas.
Dr Dartey further expressed the hope that the project would go a long way to benefit Ghana and the citizenry in general.
Peace songs
The President of the Musicians Union of Ghana, (MUSIGA), Mr Bice Osei Kuffour, popularly known as Obour, said a lot of activities had been outlined for this year’s election.
“We’ll prepare an all-stars songs geared towards promoting peace before, during and after the election,” he said.
In addition to that, he stated that various musical concerts would be organised in parts of the country.
