2024 flag bearer aspirant of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Boakye Kyeremateng Agyarko, has bemoaned the state of Ghana politics saying it is no longer a dignified business.
Rather than focusing on national development, Mr. Agyarko has likened Ghana’s politics to a market place where noise is valued over ideas.
The former Energy Minister believes the state of affairs regarding politics in the country is suffering from some distress epitomized by “unproductive debates and ugly noises.”
In a circular issued by the former Minister, titled, ‘Where are we headed?’ Mr. Agyarko admonished all to rise and speak about issues affecting the state.
“Our politics is no longer altogether a quiet and dignified affair of attending to the serious and urgent business of national development. It is now politics of the noisy and hectic market place, and election platforms where noise has more value than ideas and thought.
“Like a failing engine, we all can hear the sputtering. It must be clear to many that our democracy is under some distress. The shrill and sometimes unproductive debates and ugly noises are symptoms of this distress. This must be a warning to us all that we cannot afford to sit on our hands and watch this decline, however slow or imperceptible some may want to brand it.
He expressed the need to attach some urgency to the situation to get it addressed before things get out of hand.
“The urgency of now arises from the fact that any political party that is not bed-rocked upon the solid foundation of national development quickly degenerates into a criminal enterprise. We in Ghana cannot dare look or take a simple step in that direction. We must first reexamine the constitutional framework within which we practice our democracy. We must also reexamine our political parties with the view to making them fit for purpose.
“If done in tandem, we stand a better chance of creating an environment as well as right vehicles to function efficiently in that new environment. No one person or group of people will have all the answers. It will not be an easy task of a national exercise, but it is a task worth undertaking,” he stated.
