Renowned legal practitioner, H Kwasi Prempeh believes it is wrong for anyone to defend the thought of Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, George Ayisi Boateng that creating jobs and prosperity for Ghanaians must be limited to members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) alone.
“I find it curious that the youth who have a bigger stake in the future of this country by virtue of their age and stage in life are the ones who are most vociferously defending this line of thinking. It is your own graves you’re digging with this sort of facile ideology,” he said in a Facebook post.
[contextly_sidebar id=”5K7lLrLiLl6tpUdOURsuiNqn88jUVS7O”]The Professor of Law’s comment adds to the many expressed by Ghanaians following the diplomat’s controversial statement over the weekend.
Mr. Ayisi Boateng whilst addressing some party youth at the Kumasi Technical University over the weekend, said he has resolved to prioritize members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in his dealings.
He said although he was to treat all Ghanaians fairly, he believes NPP members are more Ghanaian than others.
“This government is doing its best to create job opportunities and me for instance, I told my people over there [that], it is because of NPP that I’m here, so the NPP man is my priority. I told them when NDC was in power it was Kwesi Ahwoi who was there, now we are in power, so Ayisi-Boateng is here with you. My topmost priority is the problems of an NPP person before any other Ghanaian, take it or leave it.”
Despite the widespread condemnation of the statement deemed divisive and irresponsible, some loyalists of the NPP are justifying Mr. Ayisi Boateng’s comment.
They claim his comment was only a reiteration of an already existing culture in governance, and Mr. Ayisi Boateng must be commended for his frankness.
But Kwasi Prempeh disagrees.
“If I told you that, people get into politics to enrich themselves, so I intend to use whatever position I secure in politics to enrich myself, would my declaration be excusable or justifiable because I was merely stating a sad fact of Ghanaian political life? What sort of logic is that?” he quizzed in a Facebook post on the matter.
Read H Kwasi Prempeh’s full post below:
If the NPP had told Ghanaians openly during the 2016 election campaign that, if elected, the Party will prioritize and cater for the employment and material needs of Party faithful above all other Ghanaians and considerations, would it have won the 2016 elections? Such a statement would have spelt electoral doom for the party.
Thankfully and wisely, the NPP and then-Candidate Akufo Addo/Bawumia did not campaign on any such promise. They know better! They campaigned instead, and appropriately so, on a promise of Creating Jobs and Prosperity for All. That is the contract the NPP made with Ghanaians.
And it is on the basis of that contract that one must judge the wisdom or unwisdom of the controversial statement made by Ambassador Ayisi Boateng. Saying that he’s merely stating a political fact misses the point. He was doing far more than that. If I told you that, people get into politics to enrich themselves, so I intend to use whatever position I secure in politics to enrich myself, would my declaration be excusable or justifiable because I was merely stating a sad fact of Ghanaian political life? What sort of logic is that?
I find it curious that the youth who have a bigger stake in the future of this country by virtue of their age and stage in life are the ones who are most vociferously defending this line of thinking. It is your own graves you’re digging with this sort of facile ideology.
No government, no matter how profligate or reckless in its fiscal management, can build a public sector large enough to create a job for every party faithful. Nor can the economy withstand such reckless politics. Politicians who make a contrary promise are simply being dishonest. And you must be smart enough to know that.
The solution to the tough problem of youth and graduate unemployment does not lie in finding a job in the public services for every TESCON or DELTA FORCE member. It’s just not feasible; it won’t happen. (Besides, not every party faithful belongs or must belong to TESCON or any of the various clubs within the party). What we can and must do, however, is hold government to its promise and duty to create, through smart policies, programs, investments, incentives, and disciplined and judicious management of this nation’s wealth, an expanding economy and private sector that, in turn, creates job, training, and entrepreneurial opportunities for the youth and new graduates.
This is the only sustainable path. It is the most the politicians can do, if they would be honest with you. But unless we hold them to that promise and measure progress toward that goal, they will take the line of least resistance, which is to find plum and not-so-plum public sector jobs for just a few of you and string the rest along until another election is due. Let’s be realistic–and discerning
Ayisi’s comment suicidal; Nana Addo must act now – Minority
The Minority in Parliament has turned the heat on President Nana Akufo-Addo to break his silence over the widely condemned partisan comment made by Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Ayisi Boateng.
According to the Minority, turning a blind eye on the issue will mean that Akufo-Addo endorses such comments which have been described as “bigotry.”
Ayisi Boateng’s partisan comment ‘senseless’ – K.B. Asante
Retired diplomat and once secretary to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, K.B. Asante, has said the pledge by Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, George Ayisi Boateng, to prioritize the welfare of New Patriotic Party members in his dealings “doesn’t make sense”.
Comments like that put the country on the verge of “rot”, he asserted on the Citi Breakfast Show.
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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana