NDC, NPP must co-exist-senior citizen

A SENIOR citizen and veteran writer in Kumasi, Mr. Paul Ankobia-Kokroe, has deplored the alleged acts of violence being visited on the members of opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) by activists of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in recent times.

He said it is not a healthy development in the face of the claims by the leadership of the NDC to preach peace while the party's followers practise violence.

Mr. Ankobia-Kokroe noted it was that the two main political parties learn to live in harmony, instead of resorting to witch hunting and blame game, saying that this does not augur well for the growth of democracy in the country.

”The leadership of both NDC and NPP must be know that we are one people in one nation with a common destiny, and that their followers must learn to co-exist and not be at each other's throat in the name of democracy or political power”.

According to the senior citizen, the ultimate goal of any government is to ensure proper development of available resources for the good of the people.

He referred to the situation in 2001 when the then Minister of Housing reportedly hounded former Ministers and state functionaries in respect of the government bungalows that they occupied, as if there had been a military take over.

To ensure that harmony prevails among members and followers of both parties and for them to co-exist peacefully, Mr. Ankobia-Kokroe cautioned against insulting utterances by the leadership and membership of both parties, which has the tendency to spark off hostilities.

He stated that conflict has not contributed to the development of any nation anywhere in the world, hence the need for the NDC and the NPP as well as its large following to live in peace for the sake of mother Ghana .

He has, therefore, called on religious organizations including the Christian Council of Ghana, Ghana Muslim Mission and the Catholic Bishops' Conference, among other identifiable groupings and professional bodies to monitor the activities of political leaders in the country and provide guidance when they seem to go wayward by offering constructive criticisms and useful guidelines.

“It is time our religious leaders speak against wrong doing by officialdom since silence on national issues on their part tends to create doubts about their impartiality and divine obligation to society,” he said.