The General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, has backed the decision by the government to suspend the one-month ban on fishing as well as its reported withdrawal of the revised AMERI deal.
According to him, the decisions have been made as a sign of the Nana Akufo-Addo administration’s readiness to listen to the concerns of citizens, who are the primary stakeholders in governance.
John Boadu made these comments on Saturday at the Central Region NPP’s thanksgiving service to mark the 71st-anniversary of the formation of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) in Cape Coast.
Addressing the participants, including national executives of the party, members of the Council of State, Members of Parliament, MMDCEs, NPP’s regional and constituency executives of the Central Region, the General Secretary said cabinet rescinded the one-month ban on fishing due to a lack of enough engagement with stakeholders.
“We realised that this noble idea the Fisheries Ministry wanted to implement, although it is good, the communication and the buy-in of most stakeholders did not go well. We are there like Samuel (in the Bible) who knew that he had done a good job but the people were demanding that they wanted a king like other states around them, so he acceded to the wish of the people.”
He stated that the government would do a broader consultation on the matter to ensure that the policy is implemented correctly.
“We will implement it properly,” he said.
Mr. Boadu said though a cabinet decision has stopped the new AMERI deal, the government will review it to ensure value for money.
“For the NDC, they can rejoice for a moment, but their time will come because going through the records and the kind of fishy deals that went through that transaction; we will rescind our decision for now but we will come back again. We will review that project, to make sure that the Ghanaian people get their monies’ worth”.
Mr. Boadu encouraged members of the NPP not to despair over the decisions because those steps are parts of the broader scrutiny of all projects both in the previous government as well the current Akufo Addo administration to ensure Ghana is not shortchanged.
Concerning the Free Senior High School policy, the General Secretary dispelled doubts of some Ghanaians about the double-intake system, saying the plan is a choice the government has made to secure the future of the youth.
The General Secretary finally charged the party in the Central Region to avoid complacency to whisk away the four parliamentary seats currently held by the NDC in the 2020 general elections.
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By: Joseph Ackon-Mensah/citinewsroom.com/Ghana
