#FixTheCountry: Ghanaians in London protest [Video]
Some Ghanaians in London in the UK on Friday, July 30, staged a protest over what they described as neglect and underdevelopment in Ghana.
The protestors have joined the #FixTheCountry campaigners to demand solutions to the country’s problems.
In a video sighted by The Ghana Report, the demonstrators could be heard chanting, “I will protect the public purse”, “Free SHS is a scam”, “Four more to do more is a scam”, among other castigations.
Placards held by the demonstrators also read “Fix the country”, “Stop corruption”, ’We need critical thinkers” and “Stop the Chinese loans and avoid generational debt”.
The hashtag #FixTheCountry has dominated news headlines for months.
A group of unhappy Ghanaians hopped on to the social media platform Twitter to vent their frustrations after inflation jacked up prices in goods and services. These price hikes were coupled with frequent power cuts and an increment in taxes.
Other concerns highlighted included unemployment, a wobbly healthcare system, housing deficits, poor road networks, etc.
A demonstration was subsequently planned for May 9.but the Ghana Police Service secured an injunction against the congregation.
A judge in an Accra High Court ruled that public demonstrations contravened restrictions on public gatherings that were meant to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Failure to abide by the set rule would amount to breaching the Public Order Act.
“There is no breach of the rules of natural justice here. Order 95 Rule 1 says the High Court judge has jurisdiction over the case, but the order is temporal. As it stands now, there is no order for us to quash.
“There is no order preventing your clients (Protesters) from holding any demonstration. The law is clear that the injunction should last past 10 days. There is nothing restraining you, so what is your problem,” Justice Yaw Appau ruled.
But the police, according to the Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Effia Tenge, said the Supreme Court ruling did not also bar the police from serving the convenors of the protest with a preventive notice.
She denied allegations that the police continue to interfere with the demonstration in contravention of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“It is not now that the police is seeking a restraining order against the convenors. This case has been pending in court after the police filed an ex parte motion that restrained the conveners of #Fixthecountry from embarking on their demonstration. But because we went on an ex parte, for which the court granted an injunction, we have to go back to the court and, this time around, on notice. We hope to extend our restriction,” Tenge said.
Earlier in June, Ghanaians in Spain also protested against the Akufo-Addo led government.
Meanwhile, convenors of the #Fixthecountry demonstration in Ghana have slated for August 4 for their public protest.