RE: Sissala Youth Want Sole Female Mp Appointed As Minister

We Young Democrats write to disassociate ourselves with reference to a publication captioned as above in the April 3, 2013 edition of the Daily Graphic. We wish to react as Young Democrats and ardent supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that we are not aware of such press statement and we fully support the judgment of the President in his appointment of ministers.

We the Young Democrats will ordinarily not react in this manner to anybody or group, lobbying on behalf of another for a Ministerial position if the said candidate is well qualified, competent and the methods used are decent. The methods being used by this so-called “Sissala Youth” is wrong and must be pointed out. Following the publication of their press statement in the Daily Graphic and Ghanaian Times, this group went on air in a community radio station (RADFORD FM 107.5 fm) in Tumu on the same day to describe the President’s action as “unfortunate”. They even went to the extent of saying they “are disappointed in the President for not appointing the sole female MP as Minister”. We wish to join other well meaning Sissala’s of the constituency to condemn this group for their immature and infantile lobbying approach. They must apologize to the good people of Sissala East, the NDC and the President much for their insulting conduct on radio.

Whilst we congratulate the MP for Sissala East, Hon. Alijata Sulemana Gbentie, for being the sole female MP in the Upper West Region, we like to point it out to her and the group that this cannot and must not be the main reason why she or anybody should be appointed a Minister of State. People must fit squarely and roundly in the scheme of things in regards to their competences. We were all initially pleasantly surprised to hear that, the President (H.E.) J.D. Mahama had offered our MP, various options to consider and choose for appointed as Minister of State. Little did we know that she had deliberately ‘pumped’ this into the domain of the natives here simply to show her proximity to power as ego massage. When that did not happen she then used the opportunity of the Parliamentary recess to return to the constituency to mobilize this innocent small group to issue this Press Statement and the follow-up radio talk. Even though others have in the past succeeded with similar methods, we urge the President to remain firm and resolute and appoint ONLY QUALIFIED AND COMPENTENT individuals so as not to make our work complicated as supporters and communicators in defending the works of Government appointees.

Written by: The Director of Communications of the Young Democrats. Mr. Justice Ali Contact 0204803328