President
Nana
Addo
Dankwa
Akufo-Addo
and
the
Speaker
of
Parliament,
Alban
Sumana
Kingsford
Bagbin,
have
recommitted
to
Ghana’s
democratic
path
ahead
of
the
December
7,
2024
polls.
The
two
statesmen
are
of
the
conviction
that
democracy
remains
the
most
suitable
means
of
governance
to
better
the
lots
of
the
Ghanaian
people.
At
the
presentation
of
the
Democracy
Cup
by
the
Speaker
to
the
President
at
the
seat
of
government,
Jubilee
House,
in
Accra
yesterday,
the
President
and
the
Speaker
agreed
to
work
to
further
deepen
and
entrench
the
democratic
culture
of
the
country.
The
presentation
was
to
officially
invite
the
President
to
the
cup
match
between
rivals
Accra
Hearts
of
Oak
and
Kumasi
Asante
Kotoko
with
the
winner
scheduled
to
face
off
with
DC
United
in
the
United
States
of
America.
The
initiative
is
to
commemorate
30
years
of
the
uninterrupted
fourth
republic
under
the
theme
‘Thirty
Years
of
Parliamentary
Democracy
under
the
Fourth
Republic:
The
Journey
So
Far”.
According
to
the
Speaker,
the
democracy
cup
match
initiative
would
give
Ghana’s
vaunted
democracy
a
shot
in
the
arm.
“The
initiative
would
not
only
deepen
the
culture
of
Ghana’s
democracy
but
further
entrench
it
to
advance
our
enviable
position
(as
the
bastion
of
democracy
in
Africa)”,
the
Speaker
said.
He
said
football
could
be
used
to
pull
the
teeming
youth
and
the
nation
at
large
behind
the
Ghana
project
and
to
preach
peace
and
unity
as
the
polls
approach;
and
to
further
commit
everyone
to
the
democratic
path
the
country
has
taken.
Parliament,
the
Speaker
said,
would
continue
to
collaborate
with
the
executive
and
the
judiciary
as
they
seek
to
make
democracy
respond
to
the
needs
of
the
people.
The
Speaker
explained
that
stakeholders
including
chiefs,
students,
civil
society
organisations
amongst
others
in
the
democratic
space
have
been
engaged
to
get
the
buy-in
of
all.
Receiving
the
cup,
President
Akufo-Addo
described
the
initiative
as
“auspicious
and
excellent”
and
urged
that
all
arms
of
government
worked
together
in
the
spirit
of
collaboration.
The
President
said
that
after
the
turbulence
that
characterised
the
first,
second
and
third
republics,
the
fourth
republic
had
so
far
served
the
country
well
and
efforts
must
be
made
to
sustain
it
as
he
commended
Ghanaians
for
their
steadfastness.
“It
is
to
the
credit
of
all
of
us,”
the
President
said
and
commended
the
Speaker
for
the
efforts
he’s
put
in
to
see
the
fourth
republic
and
stressed
the
need
to
make
the
Democracy
Cup
match
an
annual
event.
The
Democracy
Cup
is
a
one-off
cup
match
slated
for
July
17,
2024
and
would
be
preceded
by
a
match
between
Parliament
and
former
players
of
the
Black
Stars.
Launched
on
June
13,
2024,
the
cup
match
would
climax
the
celebration
of
the
three
decades
of
the
uninterrupted
Fourth
Republic.
BY
JULIUS
YAO
PETETSI