South African Council of Elders Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Group Chairman of Allied Consortiums, Benjamin Kofi Quashie has questioned why there seems to be some semblance of silence in Ghana.
According to him, Civil Society Organizations, men of God and celebrities in Ghana are not lamenting about the current economic situation as they ought to.
Speaking on Original TV, assessing the current economic situation in Ghana, he contended that, the Nana Akufo-Addo Bawumia government have succeeded in cowering the media into silence.
“Yvonne Nelson and other celebrities organised ‘dumsor’ vigil during former President Mahama’s administration but such persons, including prominent men of God, are silent about the happenings in our country currently.
“Today there are worse economic situations and they are quiet. We were all in Ghana when one of our respected Pastors retorted, ‘where are the sensible people in our country?’ during President Mahama’s time. Today, the same person is saying he doesn’t openly criticise but sends text messages”, Mr. Quashie shared.
“They’ve curtailed all of us and most people are afraid to talk. Manesseh was a fierce critic of Mahama and he said he was free to do his work but, he cannot say same under this government”, he stated.
When his attention was drawn to the fact that maybe, most Ghanaians have come to the realisation that the difficulties we face are not the fault of the government, Mr. Benjamin Quashie averred that most Ghanaians have come to appreciate that this government has been very reckless with spending as exposed by the Auditor General’s report recently.
“But, the problem is, the media that must hold the government to be accountable are scared. I’m sure where we find ourselves today, if it was President Mahama’s time, most of the issues would have been very topical than it appears today”, he stated.
Touching on the Oil for Gold Policy, Benjamin Quashie revealed that Parliament does not even know the contents of that programme but, “We’ve a president who sits on radio and touts that his government is doing well, everything is going (on) well and he sees no need to change his ministers”, he referenced Nana Akufo-Addo’s views regarding the economy.
To him, the president doesn’t listen to the realities on the ground. “But, his people tell him what would make him happy and I’m sure if he puts his ears to the ground, he himself would admit all is not well. That’s a fact”, he said.