Freddy Blay unhappy with Ayisi Boateng’s comments

Acting Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) appears surprised by the partisan and divisive comments made by Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, George Ayisi Boateng.

“I don’t believe it,” Mr. Freddy Blay shot back when it was brought to his attention that the High Commissioner had publicly admitted that his interest was to meet the needs of NPP members first before any other Ghanaian.

Mr. Ayisi Boateng is reported to have told some TESCON members at a ceremony to usher in fresh students of Kumasi Technical University into the network over the weekend that “This government is doing its best to create job opportunities and me, for instance, I told my people over there [that], it is because of NPP that I’m here, so the NPP man is my priority.

He continued that: “I told them when National Democratic Congress was in power it was Kwesi Ahwoi who was there, now we are in power, so Ayisi-Boateng is here with you. My topmost priority is the problems of an NPP person before any other Ghanaian, take it or leave it,”

But Freddy Blay insisted that he had not heard the partisan comments that have widely been condemned by a cross-section of the public.

He was careful not to criticise outright someone revered as a party stalwart, as he coyly suggested that the High Commissioner “maybe speaking within a context.”

The party chairman was, however, clear on the fact that High Commissioners are not supposed to play party politics with their work.

“Missions are established not to serve partisan interest, it’s to serve the interest of this country and the people of Ghana generally,” he indirectly reminded Ayisi Boateng.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ayisi Boateng has laughed off calls for him to apologise to Ghanaians over the comments.

According to him, he still stands by his pledge to prioritise members of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and its tertiary education wing, Tertiary Students’ Confederacy Network (TESCON) in his dealings with Ghanaians as a High Commissioner.

In justifying his comment, he gave the analogy of how a husband cannot overlook his wife and children’s welfare to cater for outsiders, insisting they must be the first priority.

He thus insisted that he finds nothing wrong with his open declaration to prioritise NPP members because he believed they are “more Ghanaian than others.”