I was wrong on Akufo-Addo’s S.A trip – Sammy Gyamfi

The Communications Director of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sammy Gyamfi, has appologised to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo over his comments that there was no parliamentary notification with regards to a recent trip the president embarked on to South Africa.

President Akufo-Addo traveled to South Africa on Saturday, 1 December 2018 on the invitation of South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa to partake in the 2018 Global Citizens Festival as part of the 100th Anniversary of Nelson Mandela.

Reacting to the President’s trip on his Facebook page, Mr Gyamfi stated that: “…It gets even more shocking and bizarre to note that the president did not inform parliament about this trip contrary to the constitutional imperative to do so whenever the president intends to leave our jurisdiction.”

However, soon after this post, the parliamentary notification regarding the trip sent to the Speaker of Parliament was released by the government, thereby dismissing Mr Gyamfi’s claims.

Accordingly, Sammy Gyamfi has admitted he was wrong on the parliamentary notification but insisted that the trip was unnecessary.

“Admittedly, I got the point about the lack of Parliamentary notification for the President's SA trip wrong. I hereby retract and apologise for same.

“However, that point is only one of the many issues I raised in my post. As a matter of fact, it doesn't change or impair in any way the substance of my post. Our NPP friends cannot therefore hide behind this to exonerate the President from blame in this matter.

“The crux of my case is that, it was a misplaced priority and an abuse of the public purse for the President and his family to have attended the SA musical concert at the expense of the Ghanaian.

I maintain that it was insensitive and inappropriate for the President to have attended that concert at a time that Ghanaians are reeling under excruciating and torrid economic hardships,” Mr Gyamfi wrote in a statement.