Don’t take minority in Parliament serious – Gyampo to Ghanaians

An Associate Professor at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Prof Ransford Gyampo, has called on the minority group in Parliament to apologize to Ghanaians for demonizing Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta.

It follows the unanimous approval of Ofori-Atta by Parliament after a voice vote on Monday 29 March 2021.

In their 22-page report signed by First Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Chairman of the appointments committee, Joe Osei-Owusu, and Rosemary Arthur Sarkodie, Clerk to the committee, the committee by consensus, recommended to Parliament to approve the nomination of Ofori-Atta.

Gyampo questioned the critical stance of the minority group against the finance minister following his unanimous approval despite some initial resistance.

He has therefore described the recent development as a politics of convenience which must be halted.

“Was the Minister that good in his first term to warrant such a unanimous approval? What was the basis of the critical stance against some of his policies by the minority group? Was it just propaganda against him or it was sheer ignorance on their part? Were they criticizing the man, just to look good in the sight of the populace? Does it mean their criticisms weren’t well-founded? What?” he wrote on Facebook.

Gyampo added: “If KOA is that much of a political saint, then the minority group owe Ghanaians an apology for demonizing the man, and henceforth, they must not be taken seriously on their criticisms of the government. We cannot be taken for granted all the time by politicians. We aren’t always that gullible. The kind of nauseating politics of convenience being practiced in Ghana is a needless sale of the soul of human conscience and this must stop.”

Below is the full post:

The minority group, especially, their members who pontificate on finance and the economy, owe us an explanation on the unanimous approval of KOA as FM. I personally do not have problems with the FM, but we were, through the incessant bastardization of his policies by the minority group, made to believe that he was the most greedy, insensitive, corrupt, and incompetent Minister in the previous administration.

Was the Minister that good in his first term to warrant such a unanimous approval? What was the basis of the critical stance against some of his policies by the minority group? Was it just propaganda against him or it was sheer ignorance on their part? Were they criticizing the man, just to look good in the sight of the populace? Does it mean their criticisms weren’t well-founded? What?

If KOA is that much of a political saint, then the minority group owes Ghanaians an apology for demonizing the man, and henceforth, they must not be taken seriously on their criticisms of the government. We cannot be taken for granted all the time by politicians. We aren’t always that gullible. The kind of nauseating politics of convenience being practiced in Ghana is a needless sale of the soul of human conscience and this must stop.

It appears the kind of Parliament we have now may even be more toothless in rubber-stamping executive decisions than the previous ones. The minority group would only bark and hypnotize us into thinking they would assert the role of parliament as a countervailing authority. But they would sing the praises of the ruling government even louder than members of the government when they are required to assert parliamentary sovereignty. The evidence is their contradictory conduct at the Appointment Committee and the Plenary Session of the House.

Yaw Gyampo

A31, Prabiw

PAV Ansah Street

Saltpond

&

Suro Nipa House

Kubease

Larteh-Akuapim