NATIONAL HOUSE OF CHIEFS RIGHT TO INSIST THAT WE PUT GHANA FIRST
The National House of Chiefs has issued a statement calling on the Legislature and all political stakeholders, for that matter, to strive to put Ghana first in everything they do.
The call came against the backdrop of infighting among members of the opposition National Congress largely of what the party leadership and communications machine sees as a betrayal on the part of the Minority in approving appointees who have been penciled for various portfolios by the Executive.
Earlier, other segments of our population including academia, the Christian Council, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, and the leadership of the Muslim communities, have shared those convictions.
The National House of Chiefs’ call also came against the background of storms that have hit the leadership of the opposition National Democratic Congress and its foot soldier constituencies across the country, reminding them that just like any other party in Ghana, the NDC has an obligation to put God and Country first.
Interestingly, while the Vetting Committee conscientiously did its national duty by approving the President’s nominees, the party leadership, which was evidently angry over what they saw as an act of betrayal on the part of the Minority for approving certain MPs, has cried foul and threatened the Minority.
The result is that the grounds are boiling over issues of ‘loyalty,’ and NDC’s fortunes into the 2024 general elections.
It appears that the fight at the Supreme Court is being carried over into the next Congress and presidential elections, with John Mahama and his national executives engaged in self-preservation antics for the 2024 elections.
Caught in the crossfire are the grassroots boys and girls who appear lost in the debate and struggling for space as underdogs in a game of intrigues.
Thankfully, after all the ‘noise’, the Minority has eventually done what most civil society actors and decent Ghanaians thought was in the supreme national interest.
Though that decision to put Ghana first has ruffled feathers within the corridors of NDC power, the gains appear likely to be in our collective interests.
In the opinion of the National House of Chiefs, this is time for Ghanaians, including all political interest groups, to bite the bullet and get on with the business of national conversation and development as Ghanaians, rather than fractious political entities.
That is why we plead with the leadership of the NDC as well as its communicators to accept the situation and put themselves together, as we all strive to put Ghana first.
We would also remind them of the tradition of consensus guiding the work of legislators generally, knowing that regardless of which party had been in power since 1996, it has been good sense blended with friendly fire that has kept our Parliament processes alive.
We must admit that the NDC performed creditably at the last elections by winning an astounding number of seats.
Notwithstanding, they must understand that the gaping difference in presidential votes between Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and John Dramani Mahama must be respected unless they want to exposes themselves as being politically naïve.
That is why we agree with the National House of Chiefs that, at this point, the Minority must simply capitulate and put Ghana first in its daily processes.
