Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the running mate of John Dramani Mahama, the Presidential Candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has promised to put in place measures to safeguard state wealth from being diverted to obscure entities through opaque deals.
According to her, Ghana’s national assets and natural resources are seemingly bequeathed indefinitely to relatives and friends of the Akufo-Addo government.
During her official presentation by the NDC on Wednesday, April 24, at the Kofi Ohene Konadu Auditorium at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA), she expressed her dismay over the weakening of state institutions intended to fight corruption.
She gave the assurance that the NDC will strengthen these institutions when they assume office in 2025.
She said: “Corruption is rampant in too many government and non-government institutions; sadly, those institutions meant to check on corruption have been significantly weakened. We must strengthen the institutions and we will do just that when the NDC comes to power in January 2025, God willing. It is our duty to ensure that our sources of wealth are not given away to obscure entities shrouded in opaque deals. We must not arrive at a destination where our national assets and natural resources are treated by some as if they were assets of their own creation, to be willed forever to relatives and friends. We must be passionate about justice, about the protection of our environment, about protecting our differently abled citizens. We must be passionate about institutions that are responsive to our collective needs. We must be passionate about stamping out corruption.”
Why She Was Chosen:
Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang said she was humbled by her selection as running mate to the flagbearer of the NDC ahead of the December 7 general elections and that to her, the decision by Mr Mahama to partner with her for the second time affirms his belief in the capabilities of the Ghanaian woman.
Prof Opoku-Agyeman said she will repay the privilege with loyalty, and a devotion to duty.
“My output, going forward, by the Grace of God, will continue to demonstrate what the world knows already, that women are also capable of high achievements; that we do so with that reservoir of strength, determination, and mental acuity that only those who are noble and far-sighted can comprehend and contend with,” she added.
She stressed that she will not, in the advancement of self-serving ambition, declare to the world that she was only the driver’s mate, should there be any setbacks during their tenure in office.
“The election ahead of us is not about making history, although that is important. It is not about returning a former president back to power, or about producing the first woman vice president, historical and exciting though they are. It is not only about bringing the National Democratic Congress to power although that is indispensable in our current circumstances. It is about winning the elections for a purpose that goes beyond those enumerated above. The purpose is the opportunity to hold our country together, again; to heal Ghana; it is about the chance to pull Ghana from the precipice of destruction, of normalizing corruption, of incomprehensible greed, from deep despair. The election ahead is about hard work and abiding sacrifice. It is to embrace everyone in building a Ghana that functions, again,” she explained.
Corruption, Greed
Touching on corruption and greed, Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang said in Ghana’s entire political history, and “Never have we experienced the levels of greed, unbridled arrogance, unrestrained impunity, sheer dishonesty, barefaced hypocrisy and in compassion displayed by this incumbent government over the past seven years and more.”
According to her, the task ahead is formidable, much more than it was four years ago; promising that she will “remain inspired by the fact that, as a people, we have faced terrible situations before.
“It’s our turn to leave the same and even better to our future generations. Giving up is not an option”, she noted.
She observed: “Across the political divide, across social and professional groupings, among the youth, you hear of complaints and stories concerning state capture, where this government has chosen to use its power not in the broader interest of all Ghanaians but to favour a small clique. What is that?” she exclaimed.
“John and I have agreed, that whoever has participated in the plunder of the state must be held accountable”, Prof Opoku-Agyemang said, with a caveat: “This is not a threat; it is a promise, premised on the wishes of our citizens across the various political and social divides, and hinged on the principle of accountability.”
“Let us face the facts: The promotion of ethnocentric elitism masquerading as intellectualism; nepotism cloaked as know-how; weakness strutting as courage; and crony capitalism masked as development in freedom; shameless hypocrisy acting as objectivity… these never served a country determined to make progress at any level”.
The most significant achievement of these things, according to her, has been a country in near insolvency, its natural resources such as water and land and environment in rebellion, a people harassed and intimidated into numbness and as some say “cynically, bribed into silence.”
Advice To EC
Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang also urged the Electoral Commission (EC) to uphold transparency and refrain from suppressing the truth in the lead-up to the December elections.
She stressed that without clarity and reassurance from the commission, doubts will persist among the public, eroding trust in the electoral process.
“So, the electoral commission is struggling to defend its credibility and until the commission tells us that the equipment means nothing, everyone should believe that there are no issues to worry about. How did disrespect get so high? Actions that impoverish and disenfranchise do not necessarily translate into mindedness in people who are angry, hungry and in people who are oppressed.
“On the contrary, again check the details in our history. Electoral Commission, I address you directly. It is in the national interest and in your own interest to make transparent what has been and is going on in your establishment.
“The truth will not be suppressed. you cannot be so independent as to disregard the people who validate your existence. it cannot happen anywhere. EC, a word to the wise is Assin North,” she stated.
