Three Members of Parliament have made handsome donations to the Danquah Institute, to help the governance think tank continue with its policy, research and advocacy work. The three, Prof. Gyan Baffuor (MP for Wenchi), Dr. Matthew Prempeh (MP for Manhyia) and Atta Akyea (MP for Abuakwa South) contributed a total of GH¢4,000 with each contributing GH¢500, GH¢1,500 and GH¢2,000 respectively. Making their individual donations, the 3 MPs said they did so to show their appreciation to “the constructive contribution that the Danquah Institute is making to enriching Ghana’s democracy”. Prof. Gyan Baffuor made specific reference to the controversial STX deal and urged the Danquah Institute to continue exposing such deals with its usual detailed analysis. Atta Akyea lamented how “the parliamentary body, especially of our party, which shares the Danquah Ideology is yet to officially recognise and acknowledge that DI can serve as a great source of information, analysis and research centre to enhance the quality of our work and that of our democracy”. He promised to make regular monthly contributions to the institute. He said, “it has been an excellent initiative for the good of our ideology and we should all help in its growth.” Dr. Matthew Prempeh, a member of the governing body of the DI said, DI is “more than an ideological institute. It has led in promoting matters of basic national interest like E-voting, Anti Money Laundering, etc. I’ll urge like minded Ghanaians to donate handsomely too,” he said. The Danquah Institute will in 2011 organise two public forums. One will be on the 2011 Budget, delivered on the 18th November 2010, and the other on the controversial issue of using petroleum to collateralise loans and enhancing public scrutiny in the Petroleum Revenue Management Bill. In January 2011, DI will also host a 2-day seminar on the 2nd anniversary of the Mills Presidency. It can be recalled that DI held a similar symposium, on Monday April 20, 2009, to critique the first hundred days of the John Evans Atta Mills-led NDC government. In order to promote the Danquah Institute and the Ghanaian cause, the Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, Mr. Gabby Otchere-Darko undertook trips to the United States of America to meet with other centres of influence. In these trips, he met with organisations such as the National Democratic Institute, Woodrow Wilson Centre, Cato Institute, Centre for American Progress and American Enterprise Institute, among others. In one of such meetings, Mr. Otchere-Darko met with Dr. Paul Wolfowitz of the American Enterprise Institute and a former President of the World Bank. He also met some top advisors to President Barack Obama on Africa, including Howard Wolpe and Steve McDonald, both of the Woodrow Wilson Institute. About the Danquah Institute The Danquah Institute was established on 4 February 2007 to act as a policy think-tank, research and analysis centre. The Institute is named after Dr Joseph Boakye Danquah (21 December 1895 – 4 February 1965), one of Ghana’s founding fathers who established Ghana’s first political party, the United Gold Coast Convention, in 1947. Its Governing Body is made up of Professor Addo Fening; Rev. Asante Antwi; Mr. Akenten Appiah Menkah; Kwame Okoampa-Ahoofe; Professor Wayo Seini; Professor Yaw Twumasi; Ken Ofori-Atta; Dr. Matthew Prempeh, MP for Manhyia; and Professor Mike Oquaye, MP for Dome Kwabenya and 2nd Deputy Speaker of Parliament. The Danquah Institute regards itself as guardians and ambassadors of the political and economic thought known as liberalism and how its promotion must benefit Africa and the African as members of the greater global community. The Institute seeks through its work to advance Danquah’s beliefs in individual freedom, rule of law, multi-party democracy, liberal economics and equality of opportunity and ensure they inform the actions of the democratically-elected Government of Ghana and governments of other African states. Source: Danquah Institute