National Democratic Congress (NDC) party supporters in Ashaiman have demanded that President Mahama appoints their Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Ernest Henry Norgbey to a ministerial office.
According to the party supporters in the constituency, this is a long-deserved reward for their loyalty to the party and their impressive performance at the 2024 polls.
The supporters resorted to demonstrating at the party office in Ashaiman to advance their course, a situation which has caused tensions to rise. Videos that have surfaced show unhappy party constituents in red and black outfits seriously protesting on the grounds.
“Don’t we also deserve something better? We gave the President 59,000 solid votes. We didn’t sleep; morning, afternoon, and night. We were working and we worked hard. It is time to have our fair share of the national cake”
A female protester at the Ashaiman NDC party office
President Mahama’s ministerial appointments has been a strategic exercise aimed at reducing government bureaucracy and ineffectiveness. This is evident in the reduction of the total ministers from 121 under the former government to just 60 under him.
Though the move impressed many who felt the previous number of ministers was inflated with unnecessary portfolios of appointments made to reward party loyalists and individuals who helped the NPP win power in the 2016 and 2020 elections, it meant the president was going to have a hard time choosing who to appoint.
Yet the list of appointments that the office of the president released after, reflected his desire to have truly competent and deserving people in the right offices rather than a tool to be used as a reward scheme for the party’s top performers.
The rising tensions by members of the NDC in Ashaiman are as a result of their MP being a possible casualty of the President’s decision. The people are pained by what they deem a blatant neglect and disregard of their sacrifices by the President. The recent release of the 13-name deputy ministers appointment list triggered the reactions of the party constituents.
“Are they telling us that we are only good enough for elections?” a lady lamented at the protest grounds as she registered her frustration at the exclusion of the Ashaiman MP from the president’s ministerial appointments.
“We are here, we are pleading with the president and the leadership at the top. We are the people of Ashaiman, we were promised ministerial appointments, that was what the President promised us; Sammy Gyamfi came here and promised us same; Hon. Agbodza came here and promised us same; Ato Forson promised us same; Asiedu Nketia promised us same; so what changed?”
A female protester at the Ashaiman NDC party office
The NDC constituents referenced promises of ministerial appointments that were made to them by top politicians and officials of the party during the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections to further justify their displeasure.
Mark Apetor, party organiser of the NDC in Ashaiman confirmed that he was aware the youth of the party were planning to stage a demonstration at the party’s office today over the lack of ministerial appointment to the constituency. “As leaders of the party we told them that that is not the best way to go, dialogue should always be the way to go” he recounted the official response that was given to the demonstrators prior.
Futile Efforts Amid Demonstration
Dialogue, however, did not interest the aggrieved members of the NDC in Ashaiman. All efforts to calm nerves and control the situation have been futile. The demonstration which has become chaotic has seen tires set on fire, alongside a couple of fights that have broken out between demonstrators and some broken glass and property at the NDC party office in Ashaiman.
The Ghana police service has been called onto the scene to stop the vandalism and protect lives and property by restoring order to the demonstration.
Ashaiman is one of the NDC’s strongest holds and they want the president who they believe will listen to them to know that they “have the men” and are ready for big roles that will elevate their status and compensate them for their hard work.
It is not certain what particular ministerial appointment the people of Ashaiman are after for that MP, or what direct benefits they seek to gain from that but the people are not relenting in their protest and call for the President to find an appointment for Hon. Ernest Norgbey now as promised.
