General News of Thursday, 20 December 2018
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2018-12-20We pay you and your ministers to work for us – Cudjoe reminds Akufo-Addo
play videoFranklin Cudjoe is President of policy think tank, IMANI Africa
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo seems to be ‘getting it’ from all sides and angles since his comments about think-tanks and civil society organisations at the recently held media encounter.
IMANI Boss, Franklin Cudjoe has joined his vice to give Mr. Akufo- Addo a piece of their mind after the latter during an interaction with journalists at the Jubilee house
Read full articlesaid some of the think-tanks that criticise his policies usually present alternatives that have little substance.
Mr. Akufo-Addo, in his speech at the event said among other things;
“The Ghanaian people and myself we are both in a hurry to get to the 21st century and we are going to go and go…so far as I am concerned, these matters, these policies that are the subject of attack are their rights. Many of think tanks too. Many of the bombs they throw turn out to be dart squirts; at the end of the day, they have very little substance to them. It is their right. I will be the first to say it is their rights to open their mouths and say what they want. It is not going to deter me. It is not going to deter this administration from continuing the path of bringing modern instruments of governance, attitudes towards governance, and bringing the initiatives to be a full and active member of this 21st Century”.
Mr. Franklin Cudjoe who obviously disagrees with the President on his comments, in a Facebook post expressed disappointment.
He deems the remarks as ‘insulting’. He said though, that even insults will not deter him and his colleagues from ‘serving Ghana’ by critiquing issues and ‘making noise’ whenever they ought to. His advice however to the President is that he remembers that he and his government are being paid by Ghanaians to work and not vice versa.
His response read; “JM said we were purposeless lamentators. By the time he realised he could only say he suffered from the paradox of exposure. He has since been remorseful”.
“You, Nana Prez, we were the ones keeping the NDC government on it's toes when you had all your internal fights for nearly 2 years when you were in opposition. We met you to brief you about the state of affairs at your invitation. Today, we are only saying and doing what we did under the NDC and you say we are worse than what you used to admire and quote copiously from?. So all CSOs and think tanks are worrying you and by extension emboldening your ministers and party people to deal with us ruthlessly huh as many are doing huh? I never thought you could actually INSULT US”.
“Mr. President, I can only say thank you. But we have seen all of these before. We will be here serving Ghana. Do your part and we shall do ours. After all we pay you and your ministers to work for us. It is not the other way around. Merry Christmas to you all the same.-- Franklin Cudjoe”.
