Dr Amoah counsels productive political discourse

Dr Kofi Amoah

Renowned businessman and Chief Executive of Citizen Kofi, Dr Kofi Amoah has admonished politicians to engage in fruitful discussions. And he also wants the media to lead a paradigm shift away from the political status quo.

Speaking on Joy FM's Super Morning Show, Dr Amoah bemoaned the manner in which Ghana's two biggest political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) were at each other's throat over issues he said were “irrelevant”.

According to him, it was regrettable that political discussions were now centred on violence instead of issues bordering on the improvement in the various sectors of the economy.

“My most important fear is not discussing the important issues that we must be discussing...If the political actors who command media attention choose to discuss irrelevant things and things that are potentially dangerous for our own lives, then I think it's regrettable,” he said

Dr Amoah said although the country abounds in land and human resource, the country has not been able to derive enough benefits from the two to transform the economy.

Stressing on the education sector, he said though over 30% of the country's recurrent expenditure invested on education is commendable, he deplored the manner in which many graduates leave the shores of Ghana to other destinations.

He also bemoaned the country's educational policy, lamenting the manner in which graduates are unable to secure jobs due to an absence of an effective programme to absorb them into the job market.

It was therefore his wish that henceforth, politicians would seek to address such issues on their campaign platforms in order for the electorate to analyse them and make an informed choice from there.

Turning to the media, he implored them to assume a primary role in defining the political shape of the country.

"The media in Ghana must take the leadership responsibility in defining and framing the issues that are pertinent to the people of Ghana so that the political actors will react, not the other way around...Because if we don't, then the democracy we are practicing will get us nowhere," he warned.

Story by Fidel Amoah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana