A former General Secretary of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Ohene Ntow wants Ghanaian politicians to eschew what he calls “needless suspicions” and put the interest of the nation above their parochial interest.
This, according to him, is because members of a political party who are deemed to be flirting with other parties are treated as enemies in their own parties.
[contextly_sidebar id=”QAnswZEFNFdHsVM1ZVFVOL2GWNveMa6g”]The practice to him, defeats the trust and consolidation of democracy promoted through interparty dialogue.
Speaking at a joint symposium on interparty dialogue which gathered experiences from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Ghana at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), the former NPP General Secretary asked politicians to work together to promote the development of the country.
“We as political leaders must decide that we represent something bigger than our various political parties. Indeed we represent the very destiny and future of our societies and so therefore we want to take a cause that will provide a more cohesive and more united society for the future and that we will not allow our various political interests as political parties or even as individual politicians to stand in the way of the future of our various societies,” he said.
“It will only depend on our own commitment and sense of obligation to our societies that we are doing this not for ourselves alone but for the futures of our societies.”
Mr. Ohene Ntow’s concerns come days after the Catholic Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle expressed disappointment over the nature of national debates which he said were extremely partisan.
“Sometimes when you hear political discourse, you feel a little bit sad because you ask yourself is that why we voted for Parliamentarians there?” he asked.
–
By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah