I am a political super tanker - Frimpong-Boateng

Accra, Sept. 17, GNA - Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, Flag bearer aspirant of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Sunday declared: "I am a political super tanker who manoeuvres in electoral deep waters focusing on issues to transform the economy".

"The so called heavyweights are novices operating in shallow waters through intimidations, insults, personality attacks, vindictiveness, which retard development," he added in an interview with Ghana News Agency in Accra.

Prof. Frimpong-Boateng debunked the notion that "he is a new entrant into the political field especially the NPP flag bearership contest loaded with known political stalwarts of the party".

He explained that due to the sensitive nature of work at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, "I needed to maintain a high level of political neutrality to ensure that all patients have the confidence to face me without any political fear bordering their minds".

Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, a Heart Surgeon and former Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, defended his resignation "as moving from 'mending hearts' to 'mending the nation' through the political platform".

"I have trained scores of heart surgeons for Ghana, 20 for Nigeria and a Togolese. I think this is the time to move on...I do not intend to stay at the hospital and continue intimidating younger surgeons. I would rather move on and guide them from afar".

Prof. Frimpong-Boateng described the NPP, as the best political party in the country, and appealed to the electorate to renew its mandate "for Ghanaians to experience new democratic pragmatic governance under his presidency".

He said given the chance to lead NPP to Election 2008 as the flag bearer, would be a good omen for the party, "as we do not need to enter the electoral battle field with a lot of baggage to defend".

The Heart Surgeon appealed to delegates to the party's Special National Delegates Congress in December 22, to avoid the mistake of electing any other candidate, apart from Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.

He noted: "That would mean arming our political opponents with ammunitions to defeat us at the Presidential and Parliamentary elections".

Prof. Frimpong-Boateng asked the NPP delegates to give him the mandate to transform the nation, and set the country on the path of economic independence and emancipation.

"The power for total freedom is in your hands use it wisely by electing Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng as the flag bearer of NPP for Election 2008," he added.

On the economy, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng expressed concern about Ghana's continuous dependence on the international community for basic facilities "we depend on the outside world to resource our institutions"

He said, "It is unacceptable that after 50 years of ationhood, about 80 per cent of inputs into agriculture, education and health are from foreign sources".

"We cannot resource our institutions because we are not creating enough wealth. We are not creating wealth because it is taking us too long to change the structure of the national economy from a heavily dependent on the export of raw materials to the export of knowledge and technology".

"Our world is essentially driven by technology. Energy, agriculture, medicine and health, clean air and water, transportation, sanitation, management use and conservation of natural resources - all are based ultimately on science and technology," he added.

The Heart Surgeon stressed the need for Ghana to focus on science and technological advancement for national development.

He explained that every country's development depended on its ability to understand, interpret, select, adapt, use, transmit, diffuse, produce and commercialize scientific and technological knowledge in a manner appropriate to its culture, aspirations and level of development.

Prof. Frimpong-Boateng noted that the poverty gap was a technological gap stressing that: "The categorization of nations into advanced and developing is based on their scientific advancement".

"Low income levels go with low scientific and technological status, while high income levels correspond with high scientific and technological programme".