Ghana's top 3 'loose talkers' of the week

In the first week of September this year, the political class in Ghana dominated news headlines and social media commentary with controversial and unfiltered remarks which sparked widespread condemnation by a section of the public.

These personalities continue to make headlines with their bold and unfiltered statements, keeping them firmly in the spotlight as some of Ghana’s most talked-about figures of the week.

GhanaWeb takes a look at the top three 'loose talkers' of the week, emphasising on what they said and how the public reacted to their comments on issues regarding national development.

Frank Annoh Dompreh, Majority Chief Whip

NDC polluted more water bodies during their tenure - Annoh- Dompreh

Leading the pack is the Majority Chief Whip in Parliament, Frank Annoh Dompreh who captured public attention with his unrestrained and controversial remarks on the rampant galamsey menace during an emergency parliamentary meeting held at the Dome on September 3, and 4, 2024.

Known for his fiery personality, the NPP lawmaker when responding to the minority’s concerns about the government’s failure to tackle the galamsey menace, argued that an investigation would reveal more water bodies were polluted during the tenure of the previous NDC government compared to the current ruling NPP government.

“If we are to look and investigate both sides of the House (NPP and NDC), I can tell you that the NDC polluted the water more than us. So, let’s get matters straight,” Annoh Dompreh said.

The lawmaker's comments have received widespread backlash, raising concerns of the government's true commitment towards tackling the galamsey menace hands-on.



Bawa Majeed, NSA Deputy Director General

Did Angola play in the sky? - NSA boss hits back at Ghanaians over poor Baba Yara pitch

Also in the past week, the Deputy Director General of the National Sports Authority, Bawa Majeed left a sour taste in the mouths of football fans when he provided a sharp-tongued response to the criticism faced following Ghana’s 0-1 defeat to Angola in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

His comments were on the back of concerns regarding the state of the pitch at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi which many believe may have contributed to Ghana’s defeat in the qualifiers.

The NSA deputy director argued that the Angolans, who won the game, played on the same pitch as Ghana and that any argument about the pitch is a flawed one.

“Are they suggesting that the Angolans were playing in the sky? They are all footballers,” Bawa told Asempa FM.

“Those they assembled to play against the Black Stars are professionals. We assembled our professionals. They all played on the same pitch. So, CAF has inspected the pitch and approved it for the game.

“Let’s just look at what happened. We might not be coaches, but we follow and understand football. We all suspected and wanted, even the fans themselves were agitating for change in the 60th minute," he stated.

Similarly, Majeed’s remarks angered many sports fans who were already finding it difficult to come to terms with the fact that existing sporting facilities have been left to deteriorate despite authorities constantly trumpeting financial and infrastructural investments made in the sports sector.

Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, NPP running mate

‘There is no country in the world where people work for 24 hours; even God sleeps at night’ - NAPO

With about three months to a general election in December, the running mate of the ruling New Patriotic Party, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, once again stirred controversy with his unfiltered remarks during a campaign stop in Accra.

In a bid to take a swipe at the opposition NDC’s much touted 24-hour economy policy, NAPO as he’s affectionately known, sought to draw a stark comparison to the policy asserting that it was impossible to implement by the NDC.

He claimed that there is no country in the world where people work for 24 hours, further indicating that people have to rest after a hard day’s work.

“It is not possible. There is no country in the world where people work for 24 hours; even God, who created the world, rests at night,” NAPO said in local dialect Twi.

To quote a scripture from the Holy Bible that indicates that God indeed does not sleep or slumber is captured in Psalm 121:4 which states that, "Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep”.

His blunt remarks, although resonating with some NPP party faithful, were seen as inflammatory and reckless by others, sparking heated debates across social media platforms in the past week.



MA/ADG