Prof Tsikata Advocates for Institutionalization of Akoto Ampaw Anniversary Lectures

ACCRA: Professor Dzodzi Tsikata, a research professor at the School of Oriental African Studies, University of London, has called for the institutionalization of the Akoto Ampaw Anniversary Public Lectures. This suggestion was made during a panel discussion at the Friends of Akoto Ampaw First Anniversary Public Lecture, held at the Kwame Nkrumah Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra. According to Ghana News Agency, the lecture, themed 'The Crisis of Civic Citizenship in Contemporary Ghanaian Democracy Lessons from the Life and Times of the Late Akoto Ampaw,' was organized by the Friends of Akoto Ampaw in collaboration with CDD-Ghana, the Kwame Nkrumah Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, and Channel One TV. The event commemorated Mr. Akoto Ampaw, a Ghanaian private legal practitioner who passed away on October 20, 2023, at the age of 73. Professor Henry Kwasi Prempeh, Executive Director of CDD-Ghana, delivered the keynote address at the lecture. Prof Tsikata, the imm ediate past Director of the Kwame Nkrumah Institute of African Studies, emphasized the importance of institutionalizing the Akoto Ampaw Anniversary Public Lectures to preserve his legacy and foster academic debates on national issues. She praised Prof Prempeh for effectively presenting Akoto Ampaw's approach to active citizenship and noted his critical analysis of Hirschman's framework on civic engagement, which she found not fully applicable to the Ghanaian context. Prof Tsikata also expressed her views on the political landscape in Ghana, advocating for proportional representation as a preferred form of government over the current system. She argued for political parties to alter their candidate selection processes to enable broader participation from disadvantaged groups. Drawing on examples from South Africa, she highlighted the benefits of a list system in increasing representation, particularly gender parity, in parliament. Reflecting on Akoto Ampaw's political journey, Prof Tsikata noted that he emer ged as a political figure during the 1970s, a time marked by famine and military rule in Ghana, which spurred significant civic activism. Additionally, Professor Kwame Karikari, former Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa, criticized the country's main political parties for their inaction on the illegal mining issue, citing electoral concerns in mining regions.