Politics of Friday, 20 February 2015
Source: myradiogoldlive.com
The 2012 presidential candidate of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Hassan Ayariga has asked the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its leadership to shut up if they do not have alternative solutions to resolving the current erratic energy crisis.
The NPP on Wednesday embarked on a demonstration to press home their frustrations and challenges with the power situation in the country, urging government to find amicable solutions in resolving the unbearable situation which they say has affected many businesses leading to the collapse of the economy.
The demonstration was led by the 2016 presidential candidate of the party, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, with support from some NPP stalwarts including his running-mate, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the General Secretary, Kwabena Agyei Agyepong and Alan Kyeremanten.
But the 2012 presidential candidate of the PNC, Hassan Ayariga, has asked the NPP to shut up if they do not have alternative measures in addressing the power crisis.
In an interview with the Gold Power Drive morning show host,Alhassan Suyuhini, Hassan Ayariga cautioned political parties in the country not to take advantage of the current power challenges and castigate the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) government that it has failed to manage the power crisis, but rather support the government to come out with solutions to tackle the challenges.
He said the NPP’s “won gbo” (we are dying) demonstration is an acknowledgement on the part of the Elephant family that they (NPP) failed to tackle the problem head-on when they had the opportunity to rule for eight years.
“It is not as if the NPP has never been in power so that they could hit the streets of Accra with their flagbearer and other leaders of the NPP, demonstrating to Ghanaians how they themselves have failed…They had the opportunity in 2000 to 2008 to fix this economy,” he bemoaned.
Hassan Ayariga further described the “won gbo” demonstration as a misplaced priority since it is not the last resort until all negotiations and measures to resolve the problem prove futile.
“Demonstration is not the first option; demonstration ought to be the last option when all other negotiations have failed; that is, when we come out as corporate bodies to demonstrate against our leaders when they do not listen to our proposals,” he said.
He insisted that the current energy crisis is not as a result of mismanagement of the economy as purported by the NPP but rather the recent fast infrastructural development which in turn exerts pressure on the country’s generation plants.