YDA expresses dissatisfaction about Mo Ibrahim Prize Committee

Kumasi, Oct. 27, GNA - The Youth for Democratic Action (YDA), a political pressure group, has expressed dissatisfaction about the treatment meted out to some former African leaders, including Ghana's former President John Agyekum Kufuor, by the Mo Ibrahim Prize Committee.

Presidents Kufuor, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria, were tipped for the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership but the Prize Committee said there was no winner for the year. The Committee's decision has generated intense public discourse in Ghana with various social and political analysts assigning all sorts of reasons.

In a statement signed by Mr Gideon Boako, the Executive Director, the YDA took a swipe at the statement by Mo Ibrahim, the Sudanese Business Magnate, that; "It is better to say no this year than to give the cash award to inferior candidates."

The group described that as "unfortunate" and said it portrays the former Presidents who were nominated for the prize in bad light. The YDA also cautioned against the political dimension that discussions about the Committee's decision had taken and attempts to downplay the significant achievements of former President Kufuor.

It said it was the group's hope that all former African Heads of State would take a firm position to reject any such award offer in the future. 27 Oct. 09