According to Prof. Ransford Gyampo, a political scientist, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s claim that over 80% of the NPP’s promises have been achieved is disingenuous.
Dr. Gyampo noted that this assertion, made during Dr. Bawumia’s press meeting on Sunday, August 25th, 2024, is an unnecessary insult to the mood and sensibilities of the Ghanaian people.
He pointed out that it is impossible to justify such a high success rate given the dismal performance of the country’s statistical and economic indicators.
“An analysis that looks at the caliber of people selected, the questions they asked, how the questions were answered, the demeanor of the respondent and whether there was a demonstrable mastery and command over the issues, would be undertaken shortly after some basic fact-checking exercise”.
Prof. Ransford Gyampo
Prof. Gyampo further pointed out the disconnect between the government’s claims and the reality revealed by the economic indicators, credit rating agencies, and the Corruption Perception Index.
He pondered the stark realities facing Ghana, including the erosion of citizens’ purchasing power, the surging inflation rate, the skyrocketing cost of fuel, and the cedi’s precipitous decline against the US dollar.
The political scientist criticized the state of governance in Ghana, citing the country’s poor ranking on the Press Freedom Index and the prevalence of authoritarianism, which he described as “political king-kongism“.
As such, Prof. Gyampo stressed that these are the critical issues that truly matter.
“It was my mentor and teacher, Prof Mike Oquaye who told me that ‘no man writes his own epitaph (that small signage that is placed on a tomb and indicates the name, date of birth and date of death of a person)’”.
Prof. Ransford Gyampo
He observed that similarly, allowing a student to self-teach, self-test, and self-evaluate would be academic lunacy, and likewise, certain actions or decisions in other spheres would be equally indefensible.
As such, Prof. Gyampo argued that it is unjust and a blatant display of impunity for any government to self-evaluate and award itself high marks when, in reality, the majority of citizens are struggling to cope with hardships.
Gyampo Slams Bawumia’s Actions, Dares Citizens To Show Courage
Prof. Gyampo added that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s behavior is egregious and dared the citizens of the country to stand up and condemn it if they indeed possess the courage to do so.
Prof. Gyampo emphasized that the ordinary Ghanaian will serve as both internal and external examiners, assessing the performance of the current regime and those seeking to take over.
He indicated that in essence, the citizens will be the ultimate judges of the government’s achievements and shortcomings.
“It is not about hatred for any regime, this is about Ghana and it is about time we all said NO to the childish attempt to tickle ourselves, laugh, and condone mediocrity when others are doing serious stuff to improve the physical quality of human life”.
“We will do the fact checks and analyze the media engagement using the taxonomies outlined above. We do not really care about the open tags and surreptitious efforts at insinuating that we are in bed with any party”.
Prof. Ransford Gyampo
Prof. Gyampo noted that politically astute individuals are aware that critics similarly held the previous ruling party accountable during their tenure, praising them as champions of accountability.
However, he observed that those who once celebrated criticism now find themselves uncomfortable with the same scrutiny, now that they are in power.
Prof. Gyampo dismissed the notion that speaking truth to power would harm one’s political party, calling it a shortsighted and hypocritical view held by a select few.
He emphasized that such misguided beliefs would not deter him and other political critics from holding those in power accountable.
Prof. Gyampo declared that, as a principled political critic, his allegiance lies unequivocally with Ghana, surpassing any loyalty to political parties or regimes.
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