Posted: Daily Guide |Monday, 16 August 2010
By Charles Takyi-Boadu
The dismissed Co-ordinator of the National Youth Council (NYC), Dr Sekou Nkrumah, has explained why he thinks President Atta Mills does not deserve a second term to lead Ghana, as the nationwide discomfort in every facet of life is just unbearable.
Sekou has therefore rubbished the president’s intention to seek re-election in the 2012 polls, saying President Mills, who prides himself of building a ‘better Ghana,’ does not deserve the honour and favour of Ghanaians again since he is a bad case for the country.
Sekou is particularly not happy with the way the president is handling the affairs of the nation, especially with the recently-outdoored national youth policy.
Dr. Nkrumah therefore regrets spending his precious time to campaign for the president since he (Mills) is being polluted by the people around him.
Speaking to Citi FM about the youth policy, Sekou, who was sacked from his position after criticizing President Mills and his leadership style, wondered why the Mills-led National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration outdoored the National Youth Policy without an action plan for its implementation.
“I think people are getting worried. I mean this is only one aspect of youth development, but the way we are going about it is most unfortunate,” he said.
He could not fathom why it took government that long to launch the policy, considering the fact that it came without a programme of action attached to it, saying “the national youth policy cannot be launched without the action plan, it doesn’t make any sense.”
Sekou recalled that the Kufuor-led NPP administration could not launch the policy which had then been approved by cabinet since it was not backed by an action plan.
Whilst he admitted that some minor changes were made to the document, regarding some priority areas like the action plan, Sekou said “I don’t know why that action plan does not come with the launch; it doesn’t make any sense”, asking “so how are they going to implement it? If there is an action plan as they say, where is it? Why are they hiding it?"
Considering the fact that it took the NDC almost two years to launch the policy, Sekou wondered “how long will it take you to implement it with two years to finish your term?”
Meanwhile, various interest groups including the main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), have kicked against the policy which was launched by Vice President John Mahama last week.
As it stands now “it looks like some of us are even regretting campaigning for a leadership that will put this country in this embarrassing situation.
I regret campaigning for Professor Mills because I believe the NDC can do much better than that so it’s a question of people sitting up and changing this leadership that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.”
He said, “From where I stand, it’s a big embarrassment for me and I don’t even know where to take it from here, but I guess I will have to consult with other people and see how we can move this country forward,” he noted.
Sekou said he only joined the NDC because it served as the probable leftist party that was left in Ghanaian politics since his father’s CPP was not going anywhere “and that’s why some of us had to eat humble pie and go to the NDC.
“But if it is looking like there are people in the NDC who are obstructing this whole forward march, then those of us on the left side of Ghanaian politics really need to advise ourselves.”
In the current situation, he thinks things are not clear and therefore he is not sure which individuals and group of persons are advising the President, saying “I think he is surrounded by people who are misleading him and things are not going to be good for the NDC.”