Arthur Kennedy: I will Contest Abura Asebu Kwamankese Seat

Dr Arthur Kennedy, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said he will stand as a Parliamentary candidate in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese constituency of the Central Region come election 2012 on the ticket of the NPP.

He said this would enable him work more with the grassroots who do most of the work in getting votes for the party.

He added that there was the need for the party to improve the quality of its parliamentary candidates by encouraging the “big names” in the party to consider running as parliamentary candidates.

In an interview with an Accra based FM station, Dr. Arthur Kennedy noted that “if after the 2007 primaries, 10 of the 17 aspirants had contested as parliamentary candidates and won, Nana Akufo Addo would have been President.”

On his relationship with the party after the release of his book 'Chasing The Elephant Into The Bush: Politics of Complacency', he disclosed that he was very much involved in the campaigns of the party and had had a very constructive meeting with Nana Akufo-Addo about their campaign.

Dr. Arthur Kennedy’s book presents a vivid image of the party dealings prior to the election and even in the course of the election.

He received a lot of criticism from the party hierarchy some of whom condemned him for 'washing the party's linen in public.

He said about 90 per cent of the things he knew was not in his book but believed the little he wrote had helped his party.

Dr Arthur Kennedy said he disagreed with most of the things the Kufuor administration did.

He thought President Kufuor should not have honoured himself but rather deserved an honour by the state.

He added he thought it was not the best time to build the Presidential Palace and the purchase of the presidential jets.

“I don’t think it was the best time to build a Presidential Palace and I believe that it was not the best time to acquire the planes. I respectfully disagree”.

He was, however, quick to add that Kufuor’s administration did well, especially in healthcare by instituting the National Health Insurance Scheme.

“Over all the Kufuor administration‘s performance was taller, it was the best performance in a generation. The only administration that one can conceivably think of is that of the Nkrumah administration”.

On the budget, Dr. Arthur Kennedy said “the NDC is tax happy and going against the fundamental law of economics. Higher taxes do not lead to growth”.

He said Ghana needed a better tax collection system by ensuring that those who did not pay their taxes pay.

“When we have a tax professor as President, he should be looking at how to getting more people to pay taxes rather than get the few people to pay more”.

He said he was very astonished that President Mills was complaining of politics of insults when he had rewarded those who engaged in it during the 2008 election campaign with ministerial appointments.

He thinks the President should practise what he preaches.

“The President is right to worry about the insults in our culture but I think charity begins at home and actions speak louder than words” he said.

He, however, believes that the Presidents call is well placed. Dr Arthur Kennedy is now a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast Medical School.