Politics of Friday, 19 July 2019
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2019-07-19
Some political parties in Ghana
Youth activist and entrepreneur, Mr. Nafis Quaye, has bemoaned the overreliance on propaganda by political parties as a major contributor to the unhealthy political discourse in the country.
He notes that “if care is not taken, the canker of propaganda as being used by opposition political parties, could tear this country apart and cause mayhem, hence causing division among Ghanaians.”
Mr. Quaye argued that despite differences in political ideologies, politicians and party commentators must strive to elevate discussions and issues to reflect situations on the ground rather than always resorting to unverifiable lies in order to convince sympathisers.
Sharing his experience on the recent kidnapping incident of the two Canadians, Mr. Quaye lamented that the incident greatly affected his business.
“During that period, I was supposed to come to Ghana from the U.S, with some 25 young American citizens who wanted to explore the business environment in Ghana. It was rather unfortunate that some politicians mainly from the opposition painted the country in bad light on the internet and most of these students, refused to embark on the trip upon reading those articles. Only six who were bold enough traveled here,” he noted.
Another incident he mentioned, was the latest allegation that President Nana Akufo-Addo’s daughter, Ms Gyankroma Akufo-Addo, was contracted to airlift the Black Stars Supporters Union to Egypt for the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations and, as a result, bagged some US$2.4 million.
Later, a statement from the Youth and Sports Ministry, signed by the minister, Mr Isaac Asiamah, denied that claims that Gyankroma was in charge of feeding and sheltering the 120 supporters, each of whose travel expenses for the whole AFCON season amounts to $20,000.
Meanwhile, Mr. Quaye said the claims have damaged and dented the image of the first family as publications have gone wide on various social media platforms on the incident which was not true.
“Going forward, I believe we must learn to do things right. The NPP party communicators must be quick to respond to such allegations and make sure it doesn’t attract global or national attention. Ghana doesn’t need propaganda at this stage of our national development. What is needed is ideas and contributions that will elevate the national discourse and progress,” he maintained.
