Kobby Acheampong, Deputy Minister of Tourism, has found himself in hot waters, as cocoa farmers in the Ashanti region have joined scores of people who have damned him for his foul-mouthed comments.
The ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) stalwart exhibited a high degree of haughtiness and insolence on Citi Fm, an Accra-based radio station, on Tuesday when he rained insults on the General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie aka Sir John.
The former journalism lecturer at African University College of Communication, did not only describe ‘Sir John’ as ignoramus but a typical ‘kokoo ase kuraseni’, to wit a typical villager from a cocoa-growing area.
Kobby Acheampong made the unsavory comments when he reacted to Sir John’s contention that President Mills should have scored grade ‘A’ for doing nothing instead of the grade ‘B’ score in Africawatch Magazine’s Political Performance Index (PPI) rating.
Cocoa farmers in the Ashanti region have taken offence at the deputy minister’s description of Sir John as a “kokoo ase kuraseni”, saying that they felt insulted by that depiction.
Speaking in an interview with Kessben Fm, a Kumasi-based radio station, the president of the Ashanti Regional Cocoa Farmers Association, Nana Kwaku Duah, said Kobby Acheampong had impugned their dignity as cocoa farmers.
He stated that Kobby Acheampong did not only demonstrate his total disregard for cocoa farmers in the country but also portrayed them as a bunch of useless persons.
According to him, he did not understand why the deputy Tourism Minister chose to insult the NPP General Secretary by describing him as a typical ‘kokoo ase kuraseni’, when indeed different forms of insults were available.
“I am finding it difficult to fathom why the deputy minister, in spite of the assorted forms of insults that abound in the system, only chose to insult the NPP General Secretary in a language that offends us,” Nana Kwaku Duah noted.
He said he particularly felt embarrassed when he heard the remark on radio because cocoa farmers had contributed a lot to the development agenda of the country and therefore did not deserve this comment.
Nana Kwaku Duah, on behalf of his members, appealed to President Mills to immediately relieve Kobby Acheampong of his post to serve as a deterrent to other members of his government.
“We are calling on President Mills to, without delay, sack Mr. Kobby Acheampong from office in the sense that a senior member of government who does not respect cocoa farmers cannot continue to serve in the government,” he stressed.
Nana Kwaku Duah also tasked the law professor to ask the deputy minister to render an unqualified apology to cocoa farmers in the country.
“We are not only calling on the President to sack Kobby Acheampong from office but we are again calling on the President to compel the deputy minister to apologize to us,” he angrily emphasized.
Nana Kwaku Duah disclosed that they would hit the streets to express their displeasure at the comments made by the deputy minister if President Mills failed to relieve him of his duties in within a week’s time.
“Yes, we will abandon our respective duties and hit the streets in all-red outfits to demonstrate our unhappiness about the remarks made by Kobby Acheampong if President Mills decides to retain him in office,” he emphasized.
