A representative of Ghana at the United Nations (UN), Mr Ransford McCarroll Kpakpo Addo, has warned the youth to be wary of political parties that may encourage them to “take to the streets” and riot against alleged rigged polls during the December elections. “We must all try and reject any attempt by individuals who will try and emulate Kenya in Ghana,” he said. Mr Addo, Ghana’s Official Representative to the 61st Session of the UN in New York, was addressing students at the launch of the Ghana Union of Professional Students (GUPS) Week in Accra yesterday. On the theme: “Unity and Professionalism Towards National Development”, the week-long celebration is to identify issues harming the professional landscape and highlight ways in which professionals can unite in their role towards national development. Mr Addo said a 2007 UN Youth Report confirmed that in a majority of cases the youth were to blame for political riots and that had led to instability in many African countries, most recently in Kenya. He said a solution to that was for the youth to get involved in pre-election debate and discourage politics that relied on propaganda. “We can no longer afford to build ourselves up by tearing others down. The nation demands your devotion to stand up and make politicians aware that you will not get involved in nasty politics because that will not help them to solve issues such as unemployment, gender, poor health conditions, social vices and the environment,” Mr Addo said. He, therefore, encouraged the students to play an active role in the December elections and support a “new kind of politics” where rival parties are not seen as enemies but as friends. “I am certain that if we can mobilise our voices, we can once again be the shining star of Africa and leaders in democracy. There is no destiny we cannot fulfil,” he said. Also speaking at the launch, the General Secretary of the Reformed Patriotic Democrats (RPD), Mr Francis Kyere, agreed that there was the need for unity among all Ghanaians in this election year in order to uphold Ghana’s reputation for peaceful elections. “Ghana can be credited with the fact that peace has always been the hallmark of our success,” he said. Another speaker at the launch, the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Ransford Tetteh, highlighted the turbulent nature of the labour scene in Ghana, which consisted of people who often withdrew their services, threatened to walk away from their jobs or migrated to Europe or America. “The state spends a lot of its resources on the training of professionals ... and the least these professionals can give to the public is selfless service so that the ordinary person can have hope for an improved standard of living,” he said. Mr Tetteh, who is also the Editor of the Daily Graphic, said there were development challenges everywhere in the country, from choked drains to roads riddled with potholes and indisciplined youths. He said people looked up to professionals for help to solve these problems but the professionals refused to collectively deal with the challenges and instead “want to see individual comforts rather than the public good”. Mr Tetteh called for a revival of the Association of Professional Bodies of Ghana and a renewed pledge to the individual codes of ethics of the bodies. “Let education and professional achievement help us to confront the issues of poverty, indiscipline, hunger, disease, corruption and bad governance. Development is only meaningful if it contributes to the well-being of the people and our role towards this end can achieve the desired results if we raise our voices against wrongdoing and mediocrity,” he said. The GUPS recently charged political parties to welcome the valuable input of women as key partners in the development of the nation and recommended that they appoint females as running mates to their flag bearers. “In a country where women constitute 53 per cent of the total population, it is only fair that they are given a fair representation on the political landscape,” the GUPS President, Mr Patrick Ayittah, said. Mr Ayittah also highlighted the issue that private professional institutions were not benefiting from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund). “We strongly believe that our role in the development of this nation is enormous so some attention should also be given to our training institutions,” he said. Credit: Daily Graphic/Kimberley Robertson