PRESS STATEMENT FROM DR SAM ANKRAH OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCING HIS CANDIDACY FOR THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA

Countrymen and women, we find ourselves at a crucial juncture in our nation's history. Our beautiful Ghana is failing right in front of our eyes, is becoming the exact opposite of an advanced and well-developed country that meets the needs of its people. Ghana as a nation is far removed from where the citizens of this potentially prosperous nation, blessed with resources many nations can only dream about, expect it to be. After sixty-years of self-management or perhaps "self-mismanagement" as an independent country, Ghana is now counted among the under-performing, highly indebted, financially poor, aid dependent and underdeveloped countries of the world. So, I ask is the Ghanaian capable of handling our affairs? I ask due largely in part to years of disappointing leadership from those we have voted into office.

The time has come to change this narrative. Ghana can no longer afford to be associated with uninspiring and mediocre leadership that promises much and delivers little to nothing. The era of musical chairs style change in leadership - where one underperforming leader replaces another equally underperforming one is no longer acceptable to Ghanaians. The nation is calling on men and women whose hearts beat for Ghana and who have proven to be competent leaders and efficient project managers to step up and help with the Ghana Project.

This is the reason I have decided to run for office and I humbly ask for your support as I officially announce my candidacy as an independent contestant for the office of President of the Republic of Ghana today.

Biography

I'm an investment banker, a global business strategist and a development economist with more than 20 years of experience in providing fiscal, strategic and operational leadership to business organizations in Europe, the United Kingdom, and across Africa.

The decision to run for the highest office in the land as an independent candidate was not made lightly. I made this decision fully aware of the potential challenges it may pose for my lifestyle, family, personal security and business interests. But I place myself on the "altar of service to Ghana" today, responding to the call to serve my motherland with all my strength, expertise and experience gained as a trained leader. This is a call to duty I simply cannot ignore because of the love for country and because I'm passionate about the wellbeing of the people of Ghana.

My desire to serve as President and Chief Servant of Ghana is not for self-glorification and is certainly not a "one man show". I'm offering myself to serve the people of Ghana on the platform of the Alternative Force for Action, a movement (AFA). This is a national development movement open to all Ghanaians - passionate and patriotic citizens who are coming together to galvanize their fellow citizens to effect true change.

The Alternative Force for Action is a movement not a Civil Society Organization or a political party. It is an alternative national governance movement and platform we are presenting to the people of Ghana. It is a novel response to what we believe the people of Ghana have been clamoring for. It represents a means to meet the aspirations of Ghanaians. Our objective is to help build a Ghana that works for everyone irrespective of their gender, tribe, profession, location, religious or political affiliation.

The State of Our Political Parties:
Our beloved political parties in Ghana are increasingly becoming obstacles to Nation building. Loyalty and dedication are to the party and not to the country. Party members now believe they have the right to plunder and grab state assets and resources as their share of the "spoils of war" when their party wins power. Political party membership in Ghana has replaced regular employment in the Private and Public Sectors as the pathway to career progression and financial self-sufficiency. Being a member of a political party in Ghana has become the surest route to earning juicy government contracts whether you qualify for them or not. It is my considered view and I believe that of the majority of Ghanaians, that the Ghana card and NOT a political party card should be the sole means of accessing opportunities by any Ghanaian.

The Alternative We Are Offering:
So, what is the alternative we are offering? What we are offering is an alternative governance path to effect change. We believe the people of Ghana are not just looking for a new political party. They're asking for a workable alternative that will bring change and place the people at the center of governance. A government of the people, by the people and for the people.

The call by Ghanaians for a viable alternative in the governance structure of the nation has been incessant in recent times. The time has come for an alternative management paradigm to take root in this nation we hold so dear.

The Alternative Force for Action Movement seeks to rally Ghanaians to support the reboot of the "system" called Ghana and facilitate a radical shift in our mindset as Ghanaians. Ghana needs a reboot because the "Ghana system" is "hanging" and not working as it should. We need Ghana to work again. This effort to reboot Ghana will be a long term and taxing project but we believe the people of Ghana are more than equal to the task.

There are two basic things all human beings need in the context of nation building - leadership and love. Citizens need to be led and shown love through policies and interventions that efficiently and adequately address their needs. We are firm believers in the maxim - "Leadership is cause, everything else is effect"; which is to say a good outcome for us as a nation can only be caused by good leadership. Ghana has everything in place to afford her people a comfortable life experience. We just need a different approach in the leadership space to get to where we all want to get to.

The Alternative Force for Action will provide leadership that is inspirational, transformational and trustworthy. Leadership that can carry the people along with them and inspire them to buy into both the easy and hard but realistic choices that must be made. The people of Ghana want to see their leaders be the first to sacrifice when circumstances demand it, which is what inspirational leadership does. We shouldn't see the belts of our leaders loosened to accommodate a wider girth, when those of the citizenry are asked to be tightened in the face of economic hardships. The lifestyles of our leaders should not be seen to be blatantly above and beyond the reality of our economic circumstances.

We cannot continue on the path to nowhere as a nation and expect to make the progress we all so desperately desire to see. We need to get back to basics. Many of us have become disillusioned, desperate, angry and have lost the love for Ghana. It is this lack of love for Ghana that makes some Ghanaians collude with foreigners to wantonly poison and destroy our sources of drinking water as well as farmlands in their search for gold. No one destroys what they love. In some of the nations where these foreigners come from, these activities which they are aided by Ghanaians to indulge in with impunity, would be considered as high crimes against humanity and rightly so. And yet they do this in Ghana and get away with it. We indiscriminately litter and disrespect our environment and surroundings because we no longer love and value Ghana or anything associated with her. The same can be said about how we perform in the public sector workplace.

As a result of the kind of leadership Ghanaians have experienced over the years, we have sadly become deeply cynical and have lost faith in most things. Solutions to problems and submissions of novel ideas are countered with reasons why they can't be achieved. This mindset, that imagines everything as impossible, must be changed if we are to make any modicum of progress a reality for Ghana. The good news is, this can be reversed. Under a leadership that is truly inspirational, we can get Ghanaians to appreciate and fall in love with Ghana again.

We need to evolve as a nation to a new Ghana where we do what we know must be done, and it is done without fear or favour. A new Ghana where we do what we know is the right thing to do. And a new Ghana where we pursue gains for the common good and not gains only for political party loyalists, family members and friends. We believe there is a solution to every problem. In that regard we believe there are solutions to every one of Ghana's challenges. The issue is whether we have the political will and the guts to pursue the solutions. The solutions we will need to subscribe to, may sometimes be unpleasant and painful. It will be a physically and mentally excruciating exercise. But we must be willing to suffer some discomfort to lay the solid foundation needed for our survival and resurgence.

The people of Ghana at this time in our history desperately need hope. When you engage our precious young people in conversation, many of them believe we've run out of options as a nation in terms of leadership that can address the issues important to them. The adults have not exactly lived up to expectation and the young ones are giving up on Ghana by the day. But our message to the people of Ghana, especially our precious young people is "don't give up on Ghana, not just yet".

There is a viable alternative available represented by The Alternative Force for Action, which with the support of the people of Ghana can and shall address the challenges that have held this nation hostage for so long. We shall bring hope back to the people, inspire the people and provide the transformational leadership the people need. We are not only looking to provide inspirational and selfless leadership. We aim to deliver well-considered life-friendly policies, solutions and interventions that will have an inevitable effect of making living in Ghana less burdensome and much more pleasant than it is today.

The overriding agenda of the Alternative Force for Action will be to make life more bearable for the people of Ghana. This we hope to achieve by first bringing Ghanaians together to resuscitate their love for Ghana. Then we will join hands to build an Affordable Ghana with:

Affordable Housing
Affordable Healthcare
Affordable Education
Affordable Food
Affordable Fuel
Affordable Transportation
Affordable Business Environment Through a Vigorous Fight Against Corruption
Affordable & Sound Economic Policies
Affordable & Sustainable Job Creation
Affordable & Efficient Government Machinery

We refer to these as our Ten Affordable Deliverables or the Big Ten. The Big Ten will be attained on the foundation of the Rule of law, Dependable Justice Delivery System, Public Safety, Robust National Security Infrastructure, Selfless & Transparent Governance, Realistic & Value for Money Procurement Practices, Credible Credit Reference System, an equitable Revenue Generation and Recovery system, Meritocracy, Selfless Service and Pragmatism.

We shall also bring an end to the era of profligate spending in the public sector, especially excessive spending by the machinery of government. We want to assure the good people of Ghana that we are not "champagne drinking jet setters" out to have a good time at the expense of the Ghanaian taxpayer. We shall protect the public purse and insist on value for money in the expenditure of government and in the public sector.

God willing, Alternative Force for Action will participate in the national elections slated for December 2024 to choose the leadership of this nation. We shall do so with an independent presidential candidate, Dr Sam Ankrah and with independent parliamentary candidates. These will be people who identify with and are in full support of what we stand for.

Leadership Structure:
In the coming days we will introduce to the general public, the members of our Economic Management Team, as well as the members of the other Advisory and Technical Committees responsible for drawing up our policy positions. We shall also introduce our Council of Elders and reveal the makeup of our Consultative Assembly, which shall consist of representatives of the people and stakeholders in our national development. This will be accompanied by presentations of our policy positions on the matters dear to the heart of all Ghanaians. Through these interactions we will share our vision for the new Ghana and how we plan to achieve it.

Commitment To Democratic Governance:
The Alternative Force for Action believes in and is committed to the rule of law and democratic governance. We wish therefore to affirm our support for the democratic system of governance currently practiced in Ghana. It remains in our humble view the best possible participatory system for people to express their different views and opinions on issues. The people of Ghana don't need to be scared and threatened with national turbulence every four years by political party candidates seeking to be voted into office when it's time to elect a new government. Ghanaians are sick and tired of the threats of Armageddon on a consistent basis by people supposedly interested in their welfare. Seeking the mandate of the people should not be a "do or die affair". Elections should be about the electorate settling for the best candidate who proffers the best solutions for existing challenges.

We Need True Citizens:
A State fails if its citizens become passive and "failing citizens" - citizens unwilling to leave their comfort zones to confront the bad and right the wrong. Ghana at this point in time is not beyond saving. Ghana has temporarily gone off course but we can and we shall find our way back. I believe there are enough " true citizens" willing to get involved in the effort to make Ghana beautiful again.

Today I issue a clarion call to action and challenge all Ghanaians living everywhere to ask themselves these questions;

1."Am I a true citizen or a failing citizen"?

2.What is going to be my contribution to making Ghana beautiful again?"

3. Will I be able to look at my children in the eye and answer their questions as to why I made no contribution to preserving the sources of drinking water and farmlands for their generation?

Your contribution can begin by joining the movement to get Ghana back on track. We can do this! We really can.

Gratitude To Past Leaders:
I would like to thank all our past leaders, starting with those who participated in the struggle for independence and the rest who have contributed their quota since then. We only have love and respect for our leaders who have gone before us and malice toward none.

I end with the immortal words of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah:

"Countrymen, the task ahead is great indeed, and heavy is the responsibility; and yet it is a noble and glorious challenge – a challenge which calls for the courage to dream, the courage to believe, the courage to dare, the courage to do, the courage to envision, the courage to fight, the courage to work, the courage to achieve – to achieve the highest excellencies and the fullest greatness of man. Dare we ask for more in life?"

Enough is Enough
It's Ghana Time,
It's Time For Us To Make Time For Ghana
Second Independence Now!

God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and very strong.