The Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has launched its 20th anniversary celebrations to mark two decades of bridging policy research and practice to promote good governance.
The Center which was established in 1998 has made significant achievements in helping chart the path to democracy in Ghana whilst emerging as a leader in the generation and dissemination of high-quality public opinion surveys and other relevant data for effective advocacy and policy-making in Ghana and across the African continent.
At the official launching ceremony, the Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, Prof. Henry Kwasi Prempeh said CDD-Ghana commenced operations two decades ago, whenGhana’s democratic project under the Fourth Republic was only five years old and the prospects for democracy were still uncertain.
“Since then, Ghana’s democratic journey has crossed many significant milestones: the two-term presidential term limit has been dutifully respected; multi-party politics have been institutionalized, three electoral turnovers; the space for private media has expanded dramatically; and libel has been de-criminalized,” he said.
He averred that these achievements have helped to establish Ghana as a leader among new democracies although significant challenges remain, “but we cannot fail to acknowledge the progress since 1993. We are proud of the role CDD-Ghana has played these last two decades to help chart the path to democracy in Ghana.”
Prof. Henry Kwasi Prempeh added that CDD has successfully led the mobilization and organization of civil society voice and activism on key national issues through the building of effective national coalitions and networks, and provided important technical and analytic input for relevant public institutions and committees of Parliament.
“We have championed decentralized and inclusive local governance. We have also championed the cause of the marginalized and vulnerable in society. In the area of elections, we have worked tirelessly and consistently to enhance voter participation in elections and improve the credibility of our elections. Above all, we have, as an organization, nurtured and opened up career paths for scores of democracy, governance and social accountability enthusiasts, analysts and advocates of good governance and inclusive development,” he said.
He also indicated that the Centre will continue to work to secure and increase the integrity and credibility of the institutions and processes of democratic representation, including local and national elections and election management; citizen and community access to and participation in electoral processes; and the responsiveness and accountability of political institutions at both local and national levels.
“Our Social Inclusion and Equity programme will continue to fight for the respect of the political, economic, and social rights of all citizens, as well as ensure the wellbeing of women, youth, rural communities, and other socially disadvantaged groups. With our newly introduced Economic and Corporate Governance programme, we aim to increase the transparency, integrity, and effectiveness of government in its management of public assets and resources, contractual and other transactional dealings with the business sector, and regulation of private economic activity and investment,” he noted.
He also spoke about their Justice, Peace and Security programme and the Afrobarometer project which collects public opinion data on political and socioeconomic issues in more than 35 African countries.
These initiatives, he indicated remain a critical part of their efforts to expand Africa footprint and to steadily share knowledge, skills and experiences with other African countries.
Dr. Franklin Oduro, Deputy Executive Director of the Center also averred that the Center has been widely recognized for its strong capacity for research, analysis and advocacy toward good governance, and inclusive development and that over the past two decades, the Center has chalked many successes and remained committed to its founding vision to support and promote the development of a free, peaceful and well-governed society based on the rule of law, justice, integrity in public administration and equal opportunity for all.
The Center at the official launch of its 20th Anniversary also celebrated their founding fathers whose work and toil saw the Centre grow over the years. They are Professor E. Gyimah-Boadi, Professor Baffour Agyeman Duah, and Mr William Asiedu Yeboah.
Professor Gyimah-Boadi
He is founder and former executive director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana).
He is also a co-founder of Afrobarometer, a pan-African survey research project measuring the political, economic and social atmosphere in African countries.
A former professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Ghana, Legon, he has held faculty positions at universities in the United States, including the School of International Service of the American University (Washington, D.C.), and fellowships at the Center for Democracy, Rule of Law and Development (Stanford University), the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the U.S.
Professor Baffour Agyeman Duah
Professor Baffour is a co-founder of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana).
He is currently the Chief Executive Officer at the John A. Kufuor Foundation. He worked for about a decade with the United Nation
s as Senior Governance Adviser in Tanzania and as Senior Special Adviser at the United Nations Mission in Liberia.
He also served as Elections Consultant for the National Democratic Institute of USA in Liberia and Sierra Leone, and for the Commonwealth in Zimbabwe and Cameroon. A former university professor, he has taught in North Carolina and served as Fulbright Professor at the Legon Center for International Affairs, University of Ghana. An advocate for democracy and good governance, Prof Baffour has made numerous appearances on Ghana’s Radio and Television, Voice of American and BBC to comment on Governance and Democracy in Africa.
Mr William Asiedu Yeboah
William Yeboah is a co-founder of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana).
He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (UK) and currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Negotiated Benefits Trust Company.
See pictures from the event below:
By: PROSPER AGBENYEGA