Vulnerable groups key to achieving economic development
THE Vice-Chancellor of the University of Development Studies (UDS), Prof. Seidu Al-Hasaan, has said no persons, because of their vulnerabilities, should be excluded in the quest to achieve sustainable economic development.
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He said vulnerable persons such as people living with disabilities, the aged, women and children among others, all form part of the society and was therefore important to mobilise all of them to be part of the development process.
“We must recognise that our own society, country, is vulnerable because it is exposed to so many risks such as economic crisis, global wars, internal wranglings and conflicts.”
“We must develop very robust systems to withstand such shocks while ensuring that we don’t leave anyone behind because of their vulnerabilities,” he said during an engagement with some civil society organisations (CSOs) in Tamale in the Northern Region.
Speaking on the principles of active citizenship (AC) to achieve sustainable development, he said AC required that citizens get involved in their communities and democracy at all levels.
He cited awareness of vulnerabilities, good organisation and innovation as some of the tenets of AC for sustainable development.
“How best are we organising ourselves as a country in ensuring law and order to ensure that we manage the resources that we have efficiently? Innovation is the only thing that can put us on the path of sustainable development”.
“What I see in an active citizen is patriotism, nation building, protection of state property, discipline, obedience, honesty, reliability and selflessness,” he outlined.
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The engagement formed part of activities to mark the 5th anniversary of STAR-Ghana Foundation, a national centre for promoting active citizenship and local philanthropy for sustainable development.
The foundation was set up as part of efforts to find a space and a mechanism that would enable a better coordination of development efforts, and to ask the fundamental questions about the state of affairs.
Again, it was to find a space that will help hold the hands of very young organisations and support them to grow to take their places.
One of such spaces over the years is the Northern Development Forum, that looked at civil society coordination.
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Ibrahim-Tanko Amidu, explained that Northern Ghana epitomised the rationale for setting up the foundation, with majority of the partners and organisations the foundation has worked with are based in Northern Ghana.
“The second major active citizenship lecture took place in Tamale, which showed the centrality of northern Ghana in the whole set up of the foundation. It was Northern Ghana that informed the need to have a foundation that will nurture civil society, help to promote active citizenship, and help to promote inclusive development,” he recalled.
Alhaji Amidu said five years was a relatively short time looking at the development challenges facing the country.