Political parties must align their manifestos to national development plan - Prof. Omane-Antwi

An academic has said that it is not sustainable for Ghana to dwell on political party manifestos and various promises to develop as expected.

He, therefore, noted that “Ghana will develop only if political parties align their manifestos to national development plan; stop the political talk and promises; only then can the nation enjoy continuity which will address the various socio-economic challenges bedeviling the country.”

Professor Kwame Boasiako Omane-Antwi, Chairman, Board of Governors, Accra Business School (ABS), made the above observation at the 9th graduation of ABS held in Accra on Saturday on the theme, “Designing the Future.”

In all, 182 students graduated in various disciplines, including 140 in Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) in General Administration and 12 in Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Business Administration.

Twelve of them graduated in Global Leadership, two in Post-graduate Diploma in Business Administration and 28 in Diploma in Strategic Management (ATHE UK Awarding Body for Level 6 & 7).

According to him, while other countries were focused on the bigger picture and consensus on how to defeat the novel coronavirus and stimulate their economies back to life, Ghanaian politicians were engaged in unrealistic promise spree.

“On the contrary, in our part of the world, presidential candidates are rather pouring out unwittingly, unstoppable verbal promises – promising heaven and earth; entangled in taxi car, okada and infrastructure politics”.

Underscoring the importance of education to the development of the country, Prof. Omane-Antwi said Ghanaian presidential hopefuls were yet to recognise same and that the human resource could go to waste if efforts were not made to harness it.

“It is sad indeed, because if you have inborn talent and it is not nurtured through holistic education and training, you cannot become a talented skilled person fit for purpose and also an empowered citizen who can contribute to the development of the nation,” he said.

The lack of education and its attendant knowledge gap among the youth, Prof. Omane-Antwi said, accounted for the gullibility of the youth, who engaged in violent clashes in the run-up to the December 7 polls.

“No wonder the youth are attacking one another in a bloody fight in this campaign season, seemingly gingered by politicians who themselves may be seeking individual police protection.

“Our young people should understand and remember that politics is primarily about action, and not secondarily about thoughts, beliefs, opinions or reason.

The youth must take personal responsibility for their decisions and actions and should not be misled by opportunistic leaders,” Prof. Omane-Antwi said.

To him, the tool to develop Ghana is education that sharpens the mindset of the citizenry, adding that in the foreseeable future, the key to addressing national problems was the building of informed citizens.

“We need to design our educational system to teach and emphasise competencies and skills in communication, critical thinking, problems solving, collaboration and creativity identified as critical for 21st century education,” he urged.

A Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, who was the guest speaker, also graduated with an MBA.

 Representatives of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, to which ABS is affiliated, were present at the ceremony.