The Bishop of the Kumasi Diocese of the Methodist Church, Prof. Rev Osei Sarfo Kantanka, has hit hard at politicians for what he described as their practiced tactics at spewing untruths and brewing tribal sentiments within the body politic of the country.
The Bishop’s comment comes barely two weeks after another Methodist Bishop at Obuasi went had on President John Dramani Mahama’s government, describing the Government as dull and insensitive to the plight of Ghanaians.
The Bishop, Prof. Rev Osei Sarfo Kantanka was speaking at the launch of the Global Leadership Network in the Ashanti regional capital Kumasi. Addressing his audience, he indicated that, “there seem to be a general perception among Ghanaian politicians that the Ghanaian masses are gullible and lack the requisite competence to judge their arguments knowledgeably”.
He said the radio stations were now awash with hours of nonproductive arguments by politicians and stated he will not spend the valuable three hours of his time listening to what he called “arguments that do not make any sense”.
In a rather typical note, the clergyman sang Lucky Dube’s rendition of ‘different colors, one people’ to drum home his point that ethnic based politics largely being fuelled by politicians was needless. He said the trend is to blame for the country’s under-development.
“Why should the NPP assume that it doesn’t matter who they put up for elections in Ashanti because the person will definitely win and why should the NDC consider that the Volta Region and Northern Regions constitute their world bank? Why should our politics fuel tribal conflicts? Why should our constitution of voting be based on geographic and hence tribal representation instead of population representation?” he questioned.
While expressing pessimism about the possibility of getting anyone who could break the phenomenon, he warned the citizenry not to be wooed by tribal politics to the advantage of politicians.
Reverend Kantanka also called on Ghanaians to wean themselves of the current political monotony of NDC and NPP, and opt for a new kind of leadership that has the welfare of the masses at heart. He expressed concern about the voting patterns in the forth republic which has deeply entrenched the roots of the two political traditions, making it very difficult to shove them off for a third force.
Jokingly, he made the analogy of the flag bearer of the Progressive Peoples Party, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, who he described as a potentially good material for leadership who always finds himself struggling on the sidelines because Ghanaians think he wouldn’t even make the winning percentage if given a vote.
He exposed that even within the NDC and the NPP, there existed power brokers who always worked against the potential good leaders to ensure that they never saw the light of day in their political career.
“Do you ever think Professor Frimpong Boateng will ever see the light of day in the NPP? No! With those calling for him to stand as an independent candidate, do they think that he can make it in this country? Will there ever be a third force?” he inquired with frustration.
President of the Global Leadership Network, Mark Kakraba-Ampeh told Ultimate Radio on the sidelines of the launch that it was about time the country harnessed a new crop of leaders with different beliefs and ideologies.
He said Ghana was not moving forward as a nation because it lacked the required leadership to move along the resources and citizens to accomplish its developmental goals.
“Our development is lagging behind, we don’t have good roads, we lack potable water, our educational standards are falling, our medical facilities are failing and that is what Global Leadership Network has been trumpeting everywhere,” he stressed.
Mark Kakraba called for the nation to move on the trajectory of growing leaders, supporting leaders and demand accountability from leadership which forms the basic objectives of the Global Leadership Network. He opined that it is only by this that the nation’s woes can be remedied.