THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON PATH OF ADVOCATING FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE IN GHANA

Abstract

The paper documents significant attempts of the Catholic Church towards the process of promoting good governance in Ghana. The main objective of the study is to articulate and put into perspective the Church’s intrinsic interest and commitment to promote good governance. The process of democratization across Africa demands commitment from the state and civil society organizations. In Ghana the period preceding the 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution was a turbulent. It was characterized by civil society organizations’ criticisms of the military regime’s continual stay in power and violations of fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression. Since 1992, the Church has not relented in her efforts at expressing concerns over issues of public interest such as bribery and corruption, accountability and degradation of the environment, which if not adequately addressed could compromise gains made in promoting good governance. The study reviews articles, documents and essays from varied sources on some areas of interest to the research topic. The study concludes that despite challenges involved in good governance advocacy, the Church can make strident efforts at ensuring that Justice and Peace Commissions are functional and dynamic enough to be able to actively collaborate with public and private institutions on issues of good governance