The Minority Spokesperson for Communications, Alhaji A. B. A. Fuseini, has welcomed the resignation of the immediate past Deputy Minister of Agriculture, William Quaitoo.
He said Mr. Quaitoo’s fate is a lesson to politicians to be mindful when making comments on national issues.
[contextly_sidebar id=”WXvezcv92XJyMamo6fImWNhlBYwgLyZt”]The Akim Oda MP tendered in his resignation on Thursday, following pressure from the Minority, and some civil society groups for making ethnocentric comments, which was triggered during a conversation on how government has dealt with the fall army worm invasion in the three regions of the North.
He stated that calls on government to pay compensation for farmers who lost their crops in the three regions of the north, were simply a ploy to fleece the state.
“Our brothers [in northern Ghana], it is so difficult to deal with them. I lived there for 27 years, I speak Dagbani like a Dagomba and all that. They are very difficult people. Nobody can substantiate. If anybody says that his farm was destroyed by armyworm, the person would have to come and prove it. We have no records of that. It’s just a way of taking money from the government; that’s what they do all the time,” he said.
Mr. Quaitoo subsequently apologized for his comments but many Ghanaians demanded that he resigns.
He thus resigned on Tuesday.
The Member of Parliament for Sangarigu, A. B. A. Fuseini, who also condemned the deputy minister’s comment, said the development must teach politicians to be measured in their speech, and demonstrate humility when engaging citizens.
“Those in public office should be minded by the need to be decorous, to be respectful in their utterances. As a public officer, anytime you are going to speak to people, you must show them respect and courtesy. You must eschew arrogance. Don’t think that you are going to talk down on people especially when you are talking about the sensibilities of an entire geographical region as the North, I think you should be extra careful about your utterances,” he said.
Deputy Agric Minister resigned voluntarily – Eugene Arhin
Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, has told Citi News the immediate past Deputy Agric Minister, William Quaitoo, resigned on his own volition.
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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana