NPP practising ‘identity politics’ — Oppong-Fosu

A former Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Akwasi Oppong-Fosu, has criticised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for practising "identity politics."

Mr Oppong-Fosu said instead of increasing the national cake so that everyone could have a slice of it, "the NPP has kept the cake at the size they met it but decided that some people must be excluded from having a slice of it. “There is identity politics and it is really against those who don't belong to the NPP,” he stated this when he spoke to the Daily Graphic in Accra last Thursday.

He added that while in other jurisdictions the priority of leadership was to produce wealth or increase production so that everyone would have access to consumption, the situation was the opposite in Ghana today.

No jobs

Mr Oppong-Fosu, who was also a Minister of State at the Presidency during the Mahama administration, expressed concern about the inability of the Akufo-Addo government to create jobs for the teeming youth.

"The situation is that we are not creating jobs, we are not increasing production but our preoccupation is to say that it is we and them so let's exclude those who are not with us," he said.

He indicated that the "we and them" politics was a potential national security threat.

Vigilantism

Touching on vigilantism, Mr Oppong-Fosu said the President had the greatest responsibility to ensure that it was brought to a halt.

"The President must show leadership. In doing that he would leave a legacy of a united country that he came to meet. The activities of vigilante groups create a wrong impression about Ghana, but we should not create the impression that we are at war," he stressed.

Mr Oppong-Fosu said all attention should be geared towards addressing the challenges facing the country.

Constitution undermined

To the former minister, “the critical issue of vigilante groups, for which the pillars of society including traditional authorities, clergy and civil society groups must be concerned about, is that the constitution is being seriously undermined.”

Referring to the directive principle of state policy, which is clear on the issues of discrimination, Mr Oppong-Fosu said: "So if the President swore to defend the Constitution and during his administration vigilante groups belonging to his party would commit numerous crimes and go free, it tells you something is wrong."