A leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Richard Baah Amoako, has said that although manifestoes have become a tradition heading into a major election in the country, they have lost their relevance.
Dr. Baah Amoako says the document has no relevance in Ghana because political parties win power and tell the citizens otherwise of what is stated in their manifestoes.
Speaking with Captain Smart on Onua TV Sunday, August 18, 2024, during the live telecast of the New Patriotic Party’s manifesto launch in Takoradi, the lecturer of Political Science at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) indicated that even thought manifestoes on their own are important, they are losing their relevance in Ghanaian politics.
He has suggested that manifestoes be disbanded prior to an election, so that the party that wins the mandate will have the opportunity to experience the state of the economy before telling the citizenry what they can provide with recourse to available resources.
“Manifestoes have become a tradition. The fact is that manifestoes have so many deficiencies. How do you want to pencil things and later tell us they didn’t know what is in there?
“We should suspend the manifestoes so that after winning, then you come to tell us what you have seen, what is really in there.
“It is not very important anymore in Ghanaian politics. I won’t say it is not relevant but it is becoming irrelevant,” he stated.
Thousands of supporters of the governing NPP are expected to gather at GSTS today for the launch of the party’s manifesto ahead of the 2024 election.
The event, billed to commence at 2:00pm, follows the party’s mammoth health walk in the Western Regional capital of Sekondi-Takoradi yesterday, Saturday, August 17.
In a statement signed by the General Secretary of the NPP, Justin Kodua Frimpong Monday, August 05, 2024, he stated that an eleven-member committee had been set up to plan and execute the launch.
Madam Oboshie Sai-Coffie chairs the committee, with Abena Asante serving as Secretary.
