Political freedom is meaningless if… -Appiah Menkah
From Issah Alhassan, Kumasi
An astute Legal Practitioner and industrialist, Mr. Apenteng Appiah Menkah, has condemned what he describes as the over-hyped Ghana’s democratic credentials without the true developmental transformation of the people.
The celebrated entrepreneur said Ghana appears to be swimming in the praises of being a beacon of democracy in Africa, but pays little attention to the corresponding reflection on the lives of the people.
He noted that freedom would continue to be an illusion, unless the political leadership was able to implement programmes and policies that would change the lives of the people.
“Democracy is supposed to benefit the people taking part in the process, but if it is not, then it is meaningless, and there is nothing to be proud of,” he charged.
Mr. Appiah Menkah, who is also a founding member of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), therefore, called for a paradigm shift in Ghana’s political leadership, with more concentration on how to transform the freedom the people are enjoying into the betterment of their livelihoods.
The retired legal practitioner was speaking during the 10th Anniversary Commemoration of the late Baffour Osei Akoto over the weekend at the Great Hall of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Mr. Appiah Menkah also condemned the widespread corruption and nepotism that had characterised the current political leadership, stressing that the practice had led to overgrowing youth unemployment, and the overwhelming poverty that had pervaded society.
The leading NPP member also denounced the politics of tribalism, a development, he said, had the tendency to fuel tension and violence in the run up to the elections.
He reiterated his concern about the failure to concentrate on an industrialised economy that was supposed to add value to Ghana’s raw materials, and generate job opportunities for the numerous youth in the country.
Mr. Appiah Menkah has, therefore, described as laudable, the promise by the NPP flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo, to transform the economy of the country through education, manufacturing and agriculture, when elected into power.
He has, as a result, called on the youth in particular, to subject manifestoes of the various political parties to serious scrutiny, in order to make an informed choice when casting their votes.
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