Hon Eric Opoku, Member of Parliament for Asunafo South constituency in the Ahafo Region and a former Ashanti Regional Minister in the erstwhile Mahama led administration has said that ,NPP as a political party has been ungrateful to Ashantis for long.
According to him ,Ashanti region is one of the most populated regions in the country.
He said,considering the 2020 general elections ,the NPP had the most votes, adding that, before NPP could win any elections in Ghana the Ashanti region obviously should be the deciding factor because the NPP alone out -stretches the NDC by over a million votes.
Being so faithful and committed to the NPP ,the Ashanti region should have been a major beneficiary of Government policies, programs and projects but the region has been short changed.
The MP said, the region has not seen any progress be it infrastructure development or any massive project in the past seven years that the Nana Addo- Bawumia led government had been in power.
He made this known last Saturday in an interview with journalists in Kumasi after a two-day communication workshop organized for NDC communicators.
In a sharp comparison between the NPP and the NDC, the MP made it clear that the NDC which clearly is not the favorite political party in the region had rather done more for the region in their eight year reign as compared to the NPP which is the region’s favorite.
He further explained the mantra of the region which states that whoever has the course of Ashanti at heart is supported by the people it is therefore the time for the people of the Ashanti region to vote for development and progress so that the generation after us will have a better life so that the importance of queuing to vote will be felt .
He said,if the NDC is the obvious choice that can bring Ashantis the development and progress that they seek then he entreats all the people of the Ashanti region to rally behind the NDC and vote massively for John Mahama and the NDC come 2024.
Hon Eric Opoku reacting to a comment made by The Punch Newspaper on how Alan Kwadwo Kyeremateng, a former stalwart of the NPP and now the flag bearer of the Movement For Change had praised John Mahama’s 24 hour economy policy the he said,he has already stated that the reason for bringing Mahama back which is lawful of course is that Ghana is at the crossroads where our finances have been mismanaged and nothing seems to be working right.
“What we need now is an experienced person who has the truck record and John Mahama is the man who offers that experience,” he noted.
He was also quick to add that among all the Countries in the world,Ghana is second in terms of those who cannot settle their debts.
“We are so indebted that our debts have to be paid in installments so that when you grow up you would also have some of the debts to pay, some in 2028, 2029 and so on so that even generations yet unborn will still have debts to pay, a country in this state requires an experienced person who has been there before and understands governance and in this Country at the moment John Mahama is the only one who offers that experience that is the more reason why the NDC chose John Mahama because he is the one who can rescue this Country from the bottomless pit we have been sunk into and propel a solid foundation on which anyone else can build upon after his tenure of office so John Mahama’s 24 hour economy policy is a huge one, the game changer which will go a long way to benefit the Country, he added.
In shedding more light on the policy the MP said the bane of this Country is unemployment, the youth is desperately in need of jobs but ironically we work for only 8 hours so the working hours is very small in this Country.
In developed Countries for example, they run the shift system so some people work up to 6pm then another set of workers will take over from 6pm to 12am another set continues so within a day 3 people can do the same work which enhances productivity.
He cited an example of someone who upon hearing about the policy had already started implementing it by working throughout the whole night and there is evidence to the fact that his production had increased significantly and had been able to employ more hands and that is exactly what John Mahama is bringing on board because in the night whether we work or not the lights will be on so instead of wasting it, we can use it to work to maximize productivity in order to increase our wealth and also offer more employment to our people.
So if the former trade minister, Alan Kyeremateng who also has vast experience sees John Mahama’s 24 hour economy policy as a great policy then I urge all Asanteman to embrace it and throw our weight behind it because someone who does good is always supported so that the 24 hour economy policy will come into fruition.
He noted further that the 24 hour economy policy will benefit Asanteman the more because Kumasi is the central business district of the Country. Imagine working 24 hours in Kumasi here , who will relax here?even you journalists won’t sleep ,will you?he asked.
And because you are not sleeping you would amass more wealth. As people buy and sell in central market more security will be required, so much employment here and there, doctors won’t sleep, vulcanizers won’t sleep because they would work in shifts thereby building a Country we want together. So if John Mahama has espoused this lofty idea and Alan Kyeremateng supports it let all Asanteman support it as well so could move forward.
Source:The Punch Newspaper/Ayisah Foster
