NPP underestimating anger of Ghanaians; booing Akufo-Addo was a reflection of the mood – NDC

The National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Sammy Gyamfi has said that the youth of Ghana have long lost faith in President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

He said the youth can no longer take what he described as the empty rhetorics of the President.

He was reacting to the statement issued by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) which accused the NDC of orchestrating the heckling of President Akufo-Addo at the Global Citizens Festival in Accra on Saturday September 24.

Following the incident, a Deputy Director of Communications of the NPP Ernest Owusu-Bempah issued a statement saying “Quite frankly, in a normal sporting or entertainment events, fans boo. It might not be printed on the ticket, but fans believe the price of admission includes a right to express themselves about pretty much anything that goes on at the ballpark, stadium or arena. They whistle, jeer and taunt, and no one – players, coaches, other fans, even mascots is immune.

“To think President Akufo-Addo would be spared that kind of reception, or be outraged that he wasn’t, is either naïve or sanctimonious.

“Truly, politicians don’t expect to be popular all the time. Getting on with running the country is a job where you have to take difficult decisions a lot of the time. There’s nothing wrong if President Akufo-Addo goes to an event and receives cold reception. That’s a normal occurrence.

“But then, to allow politics to take centre stage at such an event and single out the President unfairly for political point scoring raises serious concerns. To put it more bluntly, it is pure evil and utter disgrace for the NDC to organize its supporters to go and shout down the President the manner it happened.

“As a matter of fact, the mean-spirited treatment of President Akufo-Addo, the fact that the president’s appearance prompted loud and sustained boos and jeers from partisan NDC crowd at the global citizen event crossed some bright line.”

Also in statement, Mr Sammy Gyamfi said ” Ghanaians in general can no longer identify with President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Alhaji Bawumia who continue to mismanage the economy and abuse the public purse with reckless abandon.

“They have no trust for leaders who continue to lie to them and have shown no genuine desire to address their worsening living conditions. This is the hard truth that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government must come to the terms with.

“Any attempt to belittle the spontaneous angry protest of such a vastly heterogeneous crowd is to turn a deaf ear on the felt needs of the Ghanaian people. The mess that this NPP-Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has brought upon Ghanaians will not be solved by farcical blaming of political opponents. It is about time government woke up to smell the coffee.”

Below is his full statement…

PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release:
27th September, 2022

BOOING OF PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO AT GLOBAL CITIZENS CONCERT WAS A REFLECTION OF THE MOOD OF GHANAIAN YOUTH.

We at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have followed with interest, discussions around the fallouts from the Global Citizens musical concert held last weekend at the Black Stars Square in Accra.

Of particular notice was the reported booing of President Akufo-Addo by the crowd that had gathered from all walks of life on that fateful day. Indeed, both the traditional and social media space has been awash with videos of the said incident in which the charged-up crowd, predominantly made up of young people, are seen hooting at the President who had made an appearance to deliver a keynote address.

Ironically, while President Akufo-Addo appeared excited and was heard proclaiming: “Ëwiase nyinaa aba Ghana”, to wit, the whole world was in Ghana, the youth would have none of that, as their joy and the electric atmosphere suddenly dissipated into an expression of anger and disapproval at the sight of their President.

The events of that day were unprecedented, as no sitting Ghanaian President, at least under the Fourth Republic, has ever been subjected to such ridicule and embarrassment.

Ordinarily, it is the business of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government and their handlers who by now should have come to terms with the reality of the difficult times Ghanaians are living in and that the action of the youth reflects an overwhelming vote of no confidence in their crass misgovernance and mishandling of the affairs of our dear nation.

Sadly but unsurprisingly, we have become aware of some irresponsible and ludicrous attempts by NPP hirelings and lickspittles to blame the booing of President Akufo-Addo at the said event on the NDC. This latest attempt by the NPP to blame the NDC for the monumental embarrassment that befell President Akufo-Addo at the Global Citizen musical concert is not only insulting to the sensibilities of Ghanaians but also underscores the fact that this government and their hired apologists are simply oblivious of our present reality or perhaps they are underestimating the anger of the Ghanaian people.

A hungry man, is an angry man, it is often said, but this plain truth is lost on the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government. The frustrations expressed by the youth on that fateful day perfectly reflects the excruciating and frustrating times Ghanaians presently find themselves.

It bears reminding the ruling New Patriotic Party that the struggles of the youth are a microcosm of the daily ordeal of the Ghanaian people who must find ways to survive at a time inflation is 33.9%, with prices of goods and services skyrocketing every day. The youth expressed in the clearest terms, the daily struggles of the vast majority of our people who wake up every passing day with no hope of where their next meal is going to come from. Those young people simply gave voice to our daily struggles with unbearable prices of fuel at the pumps, high cost of living in the country.

Today, our economy lies in tatters having been plunged into an unsustainable public debt through reckless spending and excessive borrowing most of which have been spent on consumption by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government. Unemployment rate continues to raise and currently stands at 13.4%, the highest in nearly thirty years, despite championing lofty and grandiose rhetorics such as NABCO, YouStart, One District, One Factory, among others.

The fact that Ghana has a very youthful population, with the very active youth bracket between the ages of 15 and 24 years adding up to nearly over six million people according to the 2020 Population and Housing Census, should dawn on President Akufo-Addo that anything short of prioritizing an agenda to create sustainable and meaningful jobs will not be countenanced by the young people of this country.

Clearly, the youth of Ghana have long lost faith in President Akufo-Addo and can no longer take his empty rhetorics. Ghanaians in general can no longer identify with President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Alhaji Bawumia who continue to mismanage the economy and abuse the public purse with reckless abandon. They have no trust for leaders who continue to lie to them and have shown no genuine desire to address their worsening living conditions. This is the hard truth that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government must come to the terms with.

Any attempt to belittle the spontaneous angry protest of such a vastly heterogeneous crowd is to turn a deaf ear on the felt needs of the Ghanaian people. The mess that this NPP-Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government has brought upon Ghanaians will not be solved by farcical blaming of political opponents. It is about time government woke up to smell the coffee.

Signed,
Sammy Gyamfi Esq.
(National Communications Officer)

source:3news