The Progressive People’s Party (PPP) National Chairman, Nana Ofori Owusu, has criticised Ghana’s two main political parties for, in his view, a lack of substance in their debates over the years.
Speaking on The Big Issue, Mr. Owusu described the recent back and forth between the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party as “ludicrous”.
He argued that Ghana had not seen any significant change since independence despite their recent promises and even borrowed funds for developmental projects.
“We were promised that we would move our economy from a Guggisberg economy to our own Ghanaian economy. Has that taken place? Aren’t we importing more than we export?”
“How long have you mortgaged our money for the future for you to do what you do? Are we getting value for money?” he asked.
Mr. Owusu stressed that development must reflect in the lives of the people and not just metrics.
“When they bring about these numbers, all we ask is, what is the state of the Ghanaian? What is the state of the economy?”
“When somebody makes a list and another person makes a list, you ask yourself, how is this thing reflected in the pockets of the average Ghanaian?”
He thus challenged the NDC and NPP to strive for more depth in their debates on nation-building and their records.
“I believe that we need to elevate this discourse. We need to talk about the structures that will allow us a nation to move forward.”
“[When] You throw in numbers that do not reflect in the day-to-day lives of the people, I fail to see where we will be going [as a people].”