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Opinions of Monday, 17 October 2016

Columnist: Yaw Bibinii

When VEEP turns NPP World Bank into Rural Bank ...

Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur

Members of opposition New Patriotic Party are known to always have the penchant of diverting issues or questioning some one's integrity if they realized that the person in question or the issue being discussed is against the interest of their party.

And falling victim to the NPP's undemocratic attitude is Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur who took his campaign to the Eastern region last week.

The three day campaign targeted areas only known to be strong hold of the opposition NPP and it included the Nkawkaw constituency, New Juaben North and South, Akim Oda, Akoroso and Fanteakwa South among many others.

It however became difficult for one to even know that those areas belonged to the NPP as the Vice President was given a rousing welcome in all the areas visited and not only that, his message of changing lives and transforming Ghana heavily received by the people.

As a man with calm demeanor and charisma, Vice President Amissah Arthur was able to articulate his message to the teeming supporters who appeared at the various rallies.

Thus, he eloquently espoused the achievement of President John Dramani Mahama in his first term in office and what he intend doing if given the nod to continue after the December 7, general elections.

Knowing very well that the Veep had turned their so called World Bank into a rural Bank, the NPP through its apparatchiks, media hirelings and rented columnists decided to descend on the noble man, trying to push words he never said in his mouth, just to score cheap political points.

One of such apparatchiks and rented columnists is Okwampa Ahoofe, a die hard NPP Columnist who tried to create the impression that the Vice President was promoting tribal politics or tried playing the tribal card when he addressed a rally at Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region. See ( http://mobile.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/Amissah-Arthur-maybe-suffering-from-acute-political-amnesia-and-ethnic-self-hatred-471944 ).

But in truth, the Vice President never did what he was accused of. Rather, he gave recognition to whom it deserved and one of such groups to be recognized by the noble man is the people of Kwahu for playing a pioneering role when it comes to entrepreneurship.

Unlike Okwampa who based his writing on hear say, this writer happened to be a witness at Nkawkaw during the visit and to set the record straight, Vice President Amissah Arthur mentioned that, as entrepreneurs, the government of John Dramani Mahama had put in place the measures to help private business grow.

He mentioned the stability of the economy and the arrest of the depreciation of the cedi against major foreign currencies and construction of good roads, including the fixing of the energy crisis which doubting Thomas's like Okwampa never thought could be fixed, among many others.

He said by working hard to make business thrive, President Mahama had kept faith with the people of Kwahu and therefore appealed to them to vote massively for the President to enable him continue the good works.

That was what transpired and no where did the Vice President insulted the people of Kwahu as it was reported in some media circles.

It is a well known fact that the NPP is one group that always find it difficult to accept the truth, but the truth will also triumph over lies and it is an undeniable fact that Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur is one of the gentle politicians that one can get in the country and no amount of mud being thrown around will stick.

At Akim Oda where the Veep also addressed a mammoth rally, the jubilant supporters who thronged the Oda new station attested to the fact that, Amissah Arthur is one of their own.

Thus, as some one who had his basic education at Oda, the Veep recounted those early days of his life and mentioned a particular bridge over there where he always crossed to go to school.

Interestingly, after more than 50 years of the existence of that bridge, it is under the administration of Mahama- Amissah Arthur that it is being constructed again.

So the Veep never preached tribalism during his successful tour but rather it was the people themselves who through the good works of the government expressed their content and their quest to vote for continuity.

It is an open secret that the NPP is political party in Ghana that is always known to cherish one particular tribe, while denigrading other tribes.

The twice defeated flagbearer of the party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo is on record to have claimed that the NPP belonged to the Akans. (Y3n Akan fo de3).

The minority leader Hon Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu is also on record to have said that, there is no Ga in the NPP capable of ascending the flagbearership of the party.

And as if that is not enough, Hon Kennedy Agyapong is also on record to have called for the killings of Ewes and Gas. Other leading members of the party like Dr Osafo Marfo are also reported to have made similar comments.

The examples are endless but the same cannot be said about the NDC which embraces everyone irrespective of tribe, religion and gender among others.

So Dr Ahoofe, if you are looking for someone who is suffering from acute political amnesia and ethnic self-hatred, don't look far because that person is in your party, the NPP.