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By Julius K. Satsi / Eric Appah Marfo, RNG
Accra, March 22, GNA – Mrs. Riva Levinson,
The President and CEO of KRL International, USA, has called
on foreign donors to help promote and support activism in Africa in the right way.
She said donors in Africa could help
development of activists by giving them management skills,
mobilization tools and new technologies and help civil society but not to
encourage them to act.
Mrs. Levinson made the call to 2019
Aggrey-Fraser-Guggisberg Commemorative Lectures held at the University of Ghana (UG)
on the theme: "The future of democracy in Africa".
Expressing on the subject: "The guardians of democracy:
The rise of the generation of activists in Africa, "said Ms. Levinson
"Activist Generation" and its contingent organizations and movements have
proved to be the biggest pressure to strengthen democratic institutions.
She said the activists had helped to check
corruption in democratic practice in Africa and therefore deserve support
international and national communities.
According to Levinson, political elites take
advantage of weakened institutions and opaque electoral processes for their
parish interest, which encourages young people to mobilize to demand
changes.
She cited cases in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Senegal,
Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Togo, where the dissatisfied
populace in their quest to influence change, encouraged the emergence of a
activist generation.
"And change happens, sometimes dramatically, to
sometimes, but it's inevitable, because history is on their side, "
she added.
Levinson urged policymakers to focus
national, regional and international interventions in the direction of
dissatisfied democrats to strengthen their activities.
She explained that helping civil society
possess data on all aspects of the administration and management of
to make their voices heard could avoid a lot of chaos.
"The data, that's the power. He does not take the sides and he
do not lie. As such, we need to help civil society to own the data, in every respect.
parts of the democratic process, poll of opinions on leadership, on trust in
institutions and attitudes towards the future, "she said.
Mrs. Levinson said early data collection
could serve as a check against false news on the day of the vote and urged that
no competitive election should take place again in Africa without a parallel
Vote Tabulation (PVT) giving a non-captive validation of election results.
Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, the
Vice Chancellor of UG urged Africans to balance democracy in context
their values, culture and beliefs to protect traditional systems in the
quest for strengthening democracy and the fight against corruption in Africa.
"Let us
strive to make our practice of democracy consistent and loyal,
self-love. Support peace and stability in our tradition and culture
configurations and center our democracy on the rich core values of respect,
honesty and mutual attention, unity, hospitality, language, among others "
he said.
GNA
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