Flagbearer aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Kwabena Agyei Agyepong has expressed disgust at the perception of some young Ghanaians that politics is about making money.
He said such a narrative has deepened “despondency and desperation” among the younger generation and the earlier that is changed the better.
“We need to bequeath to the younger generation some level of hope and the virtues and the values that anchored this country,” he said.
“That’s why I said my political doctrine has been anchored on what I call SSS – service, sacrifice and selflessness – and I do believe that all politicians [and] leaders should have these character traits and virtues.”
Ing. Kwabena Agyepong expressed these sentiments in an exclusive interview with Johnnie Hughes on 3FM‘s Sunrise on Thursday, August 3.
He said the current situation is opening up the governorship of the country to “misfits” who are populating the space and the country could be left to suffer for it.
“What is happening now, if we are not careful, the space will be populated by misfits, those who shout loudest and those who insult most, who have most venom in their voices.
“That’s not what we need in our politics. We need to inspire the younger generation to aspire to be politicians by the way we discourse, by the way we respect ourselves, by the temperate language that we should use.”
The former General Secretary of the NPP, therefore, called on the political elite to ensure that the perception that politics is the quickest avenue to make money is relegated to the background.
“When I talk about the new dawn, new direction and a new dimension what I mean is a reorientation of our values as a country.
“The narrative that has gained currency which is that you go into politics to make money, that narrative should disappear and the only people who can make it disappear is we the politicians.”
Mr Agyepong is one of the 10 flagbearer aspirants seeking to lead the NPP into the 2024 elections.
From Thursday, he will start a second round nationwide campaign ahead of the special congress on Saturday, August 26.