Akufo-Addo government has been a disappointment – Arthur Kennedy

A leading member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Arthur Kennedy, has described the current President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led government as a “disappointment”.

“Of course, disappointment is actually an understatement. He has been a disaster, and everybody who is honest knows it,” Dr Kennedy told Bobie Ansah on the Citizen Show on Accra100.5FM, Monday, 25 September 2023.

According to the leading NPP member, President Akufo-Addo’s government has plunged the nation into disaster.

“He has taken our nation to the brink of disaster and as at now we should really pray that the next year goes well,” Dr Kennedy intimated.

Asserting that power is moving to the streets currently, hence the recent protests by the citizenry, Dr Kennedy recounted that per the history of Ghana, anytime change is coming it is “foretold on the streets first”.

Referring to countries which have experienced change predicted on the streets, he enunciated the US Boston Tea Party that led to their continental congress and declaration of independence, the French protest in Paris that led to the French Revolution that did not end too well, the protests on the streets of South Africa that brought the ANC to power and coming home to Ghana, the 1948 riot after the shooting of the ex-servicemen which served as the significant catalyst for Independence and Rawlings’ coming to power which he indicated was preceded by protests on the streets.

Dr Kennedy noted that whenever there are significant movements on the streets, it has to be taken seriously.

He described as sad the recent arrest of protestors of the “Occupy Julorbi House” protest, by the security services considering that the president himself led demonstrations while in opposition.

"It is very self-evident that a president who rode to national prominence on the back of protests, very young and admirable activist under PMFJ, he led the ‘Kume preko’ demonstration in 2015 and 2016. He or people close to him organised protests against the government to highlight living conditions that were very bad, so Akufo-Addo has always been a man of the streets so it is very sad that his government will try to prevent demonstrations and that people demonstrating against his government will have people detained by the security services. I thought he was the person who said we should be citizens and not spectators. Those who were marching were demonstrating citizenship,” Dr Kennedy explained.

Alluding reasons he thinks the country has gotten thus far under the current Akufo-Addo-led administration, Dr Kennedy said: “Why, because people saw in him virtues that he did not possess. He just hasn’t been a good president. I just can’t think of any other president who will rule for seven years and there has been no reshuffle.

“The biggest cabinet in our history bragging about proud Ghanaians, we won’t go to the IMF and we end up going, we’ll make Ghana the cleanest city in Africa and we haven’t done anything.”

He added: “This country is in trouble and the people on the streets, we need to listen to them, because they have anger and frustration and disappointment and if it explodes what will happen will not be good. That is why we should channel their frustrations constructively to reform our system.”

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