Akamba, Ramadan clash on CTV's 'Ghana Kasa' over 'kum y3n pr3ko' demo

The National Organiser of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) Joshua Hamidu Akamba and the Deputy Director-General of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Abu Ramadan, locked horns in heated arguments and criticisms in the studios of CTV after the "Kum y3n pr3ko" demonstration which hit Accra on Tuesday, 9 July 2019.

The two were guests on CTV’s evening political show ‘Ghana Kasa’ hosted by Israel Venunye.

They hurled accusations and counter-accusations at each other to justify or downplay the significance of the demonstration.

Mr Akamba described the protest as the best way the people of Ghana could express their grievances against the bad governance of the Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.

According to him, the nepotism exhibited by the NPP is so appalling and should not be condoned in any way.

He condemned the President's appointment of his family members into high places and described the situation as unacceptable. He alleged that the high rate of unemployment in the country is as a result of the sudden closure of several banks in recent times, the collapse of businesses and the laying off of Ghanaians only to be replaced by cronies of the President without any consideration of the well-being of the ordinary Ghanaian.

Mr Akamba cited incidences of poor security, economic hardship and low quality of education as some of the pressing issues that fuelled the staging of the demonstration.

"There is a self-imposed curfew in the country as I speak. The fear that you might not come back home alive or getting kidnapped is just unbearable for Ghanaians. The tension and fear, since the NPP government came into power, is just too much and unfair to Ghanaians", he argued.

He added that complaints by some police officers, customs officers, military personnel, members of the NPP and the “massive turnout” of Ghanaians for the demonstration, are enough to show how unpopular the NPP government has become.

On the contrary, Mr Ramadan argued that the demonstration was one of the most expensive marches in the history of the country, which, according to him, recorded an awful turnout. This, he said, clearly demonstrates how well the economy is doing since the organisers only threw so much money around.

He, however, assured Ghanaians that before the 7 December 2020 polls, the NPP will deliver up to 80 to 90% of the promises they made to Ghanaians in the run-up to the 2016 polls which the party won.