Don’t make promises you can't honour — Prof. Gadzekpo

Professor Audrey Gadzekpo of the University of Ghana’s School of Communication Studies has lashed at the nation’s politicians, especially Members of Parliament (MPs), for making promises beyond their reach to their electorate during electioneering period.

She said when politicians exploited their constituents to vote for them based on the promises they made, they put themselves in a position where the electorate rather chase them to fulfil those promises.

“Why don’t you be honest and tell people what you can do,” she wondered.

Prof. Gadzekpo said this at a workshop organised for the Central Regional media practitioners by Coastal Television, a local TV station based in Cape Coast, as part of their initiative dubbed: “The Central Agenda Project.”

The overall objective of the initiative is to educate the electorate in the Central Region on the role of their MPs and to bridge the gap between MPs and their constituents.

The programme, which was jointly organised by Coastal TV and National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with support from Star Ghana, was also to improve and enhance accountability and responsiveness of constituents and their respective parliamentarians in 10 selected constituencies in the Central Region.

“People’s confidence in democratic governance is heightened by the promises the parliamentarians give; they elect them into office but they fail to fulfil these promises,” she said, adding this would eventually let the people lose confidence in the democratic system.

She expressed worry about the electorate’s inability to hold their MPs accountable.

Professor Gadzekpo, however, said there could not be proper democracy without a vibrant media and, therefore, called on the media to be critical of politicians for them to be accountable to their electorate.

She challenged journalists to emphasise the oversight responsibilities of MPs in their reportage.

She also advised journalists to be more professional in their fields by adhering to the principles of ethical values.

She further admonished media practitioners to research, read and understand topics well before asking questions from politicians and other agencies for effective reporting.

Prof. Gadzekpo raised concern about the attitude of some Ghanaians who show no interest in taking part in social demonstration to press down on authorities responsible for their needs.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of Coastal TV, Mr Selete Nyomi, a research conducted by the station through the initiative indicated that most people didn’t know their MPs and their roles.

“Our community engagements further show that many constituents in the Central Region do not see what the MPs are doing either in parliament or in their constituencies to improve their livelihood,” Mr Enyomi stated.

In a video presentation shown during the workshop, some of the people who were interviewed said President John Mahama and his Vice, Mr Kwesi Amisah- Arthur, were their MPs.

Mr Nyomi expressed the hope that the media would help bridge the gap between parliamentarians and their electorates to promote development.