Founding President of IMANI Africa, Mr Franklin Cudjoe has said that one of the Vice Presidents of the policy think tank, Kofi Bentil remains part of the organization despite declaring his support for one of the flagbearers.
Mr Cudjoe said although individual members of the IMANI are free to speak their minds, their wishes and preferences will always be overridden by the collective mandate they have carved for the organization.
In a statement, he said “IMANI has enormous respect for all flagbearers of political parties.
“Our individual wishes and preferences however expressed or communicated will always be overridden by the collective mandate we have carved for the organisation, in putting out objective, independent analysis and critique on many issues within an environment that guarantees individual freedom and liberty.
“In this light, Mr. Kofi Bentil, whose personal political views were expressed about a preference for a candidate in this year’s election, remains an integral part of IMANI.”
Mr Bentil had said he does not doubt that the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Dr Mahamudu Bawumia will be a better president, a comment that generated heated argument in the political space.
In a Facebook post, the private legal practitioner said “Every man deserves a fair hearing. We gave Prez Mahama a chance to be President, the least we can do is give Dr Bawumia a fair and objective hearing.
“He is not President and has never been President! I have no doubt he will be better! The VP position in Ghana, apart from standing in when the president is away (and he can’t make any serious decisions), it is totally powerless! he is like an advisor! There’s a good reason Kwame Nkrumah refused to have a Vice President!
“Indeed, the Minister of finance has more constitutional power than the VP in managing our finances and the EMT has zero power to effect its decisions. They advise the President who acts through his ministers!”
But in a statement replying to him, the National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Sammy Gyamfi said “It is a fact that your new Boss Bawumia, is responsible for the unprecedented economic mess Ghanaians are currently faced with. No amount of political subterfuge can change this fact.
“Accept this truth and spare yourself the ordeal of trying to whitewash a failed and discredited economic messiah, who has proven to be hopelessly empty and pathetically dishonest.”
Below is his full statement…
Dear Kofi Bentil,
I just read your write-up calling on Ghanaians to give Bawumia a hearing, ahead of his needless and useless lecture, scheduled for 7th February.
For your information, Ghanaians gave Bawumia ample hearing in 2016, when he held countless lectures and fora, to propound lofty but deceptive economic rhetorics.
At each of those lectures, Bawumia diagnosed the challenges of Ghana’s economy and proceeded to fix our problems rhetorically. Ghanaians were so much in awe of Bawumia’s “charm” and “wizardry” that they trusted him to manage Ghana’s economy.
Need I remind you, that at a time when Bawumia as chairman of the Economic Management Team, has supervised the total destruction of the economy, what is required of him, is ACTION and not lectures? This is trite and you of all people should know that.
As for your claim that Bawumia has only been an advisor to the failed Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, even President Akufo-Addo and Bawumia himself will disagree with you on that.
If that were so, why do you and other NPP surrogates continue to give Bawumia credit for the Agenda 111 initiative, the Drone delivery system, government’s so-called digitalization initiatives, among others?
Can you tell us why President Akufo-Addo in his 2018 SONA, lauded Bawumia’s “stellar leadership” of the Economic Management Team, and credited him for what he described as positive economic results at the time?
If the logic of your argument is to be accepted, then on what basis did Bawumia in opposition, pose 170 questions to then Vice President, Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur?
What do you take Ghanaians for Mr. Bentil? Some zombies?
It is a fact that your new Boss Bawumia, is responsible for the unprecedented economic mess Ghanaians are currently faced with. No amount of political subterfuge can change this fact.
Accept this truth and spare yourself the ordeal of trying to whitewash a failed and discredited economic messiah, who has proven to be hopelessly empty and pathetically dishonest.
This agenda of yours is dead on arrival (“yaamutu”), try another one please.
SAMMY GYAMFI ESQ.