A former Second Lady Mrs. Matilda Amissah-Arthur has mounted a spirited defence for her controversial chalk comment two years ago in Akyem Kukurantumi, justifying that she said nothing wrong.
According to her, she was taken out of context because she was reiterating calls for collective support of stakeholders in helping fix challenges facing education since quality education strives on shared responsibility.
“I did apologize saying that, but you see, what I said was that, it is not only government that should give those things and that PTA, Old Students, the town and everybody should support and that was exactly what I said, and I was talking about partnership and here we are today in Ghana aren’t we talking about partnership? So what did I say wrong?” Mrs. Amissah-Arthur asked.
She was subjected to severe public backlash in July 2015 after she snapped at the headmistress of Kukurantumi for requesting chalk when she presented five computers and 500 books to the Presby Day School upon a request.
The former Second Lady in an interview with the media Thursday at Mamfe-Akuapem during the launch of Mamfe Girl Child Empowerment Day by MENFYD Foundation, an NGO, maintained she did not err and will continue to drum the fact that education is a shared responsibility.
“I am not going to stand here and say because it is not my government so I’m not saying that again, I said that in Kukurantumi, I’m saying that today that it is not only government it is everybody’s responsibility and everybody must chip in.”
She added: “I have told you what I said and the context which I said it, I was talking about partnering government, I was talking about people volunteering and helping and I made mention of PTA, Old students, Town people helping and I’m saying that the government alone cannot help be it NDC government or NPP government. I still stand on the point that there need to be partnership, there is the need to be volunteering.”
Source: starrfmonline.com
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@Joey and co your brain is dead or what? did you read the 4th paragraph which suggested that those items was on request. You should not be blinded by politics and reason up; some of these heads of institution always find ways to disgrace politicians when they themselves have been extorting money from students and parents. The issue of chalk could have been directed to GES instead of disgracing of a first lady who only responded to their request of computers and co.. that has been the appropriate channel whether NDC or NPP. Although am not justifying the loot and share that went on but to use that anthem to justify the headmistress is out of line and order and above all inappropriate. The headmistresses/headmasters in this country go hay wire when a teacher by pass them with their problems and sent it directly to a higher authority but when they don't like a particular political party's leader, they will jump to disgrace him or her instead of exhausting the laid down procedure. Joey, don't be guided by politics be guided by principle cos the then first lady is a human being, and only apologised perhaps when she realised that despite she could have taken a different tone to her reply; nonetheless the principle and purpose of her statement is as relevant and good as she expounds it once again in this article.
So why did she apologize in the first place. These people think we are ***barred word***. You apologize and two years later you take back your apology? Where is decency and principles? God save Ghana.
This woman paaa. Arrogance and stzuppidity have blinded her. Menfa mma mo nd3 menfa mma mo okyena comments were not complementary. We are not ffoolls. You and your equally uggly husband are the ffoolables.
For those attempting to justify the ***barred word*** comments by this arrogant fante lady Mrs Amissah-Arthur ; I don't think they have made any attempts to visit or live these rural areas to see the abject poverty and the insanitary conmditions existing in these areas because it will make you cry -BIG TIME !!!!! neither have they lived in villages that cultivate our cocoa which is sold to feed these so called elite in the south including these stiller and corrupt politicians ; the sad part is that of our politicians from the north live affluent lifes in Accra and forget that they were once from these very poor parts of the country but were helped by government assisted programme to propel them to where they are today ; the lady is WRONG education is not a shared responsobility in a poor society like Ghana ; it is the full four equare responbility of any government to provide any and every assistance to these poor schools; even in affluent US and UK parents are assisted through tax credits and other forms to help parent but the NDC government prefers to spend millions on importing V8 cars for politicians - HOW WICKED CAN ONE BE !!!!; how do you expect a poor farmer with nothing and a teacher with nothing to provide books and chalks to these children who afterall represet our future human asset; for me Ghana is bleeding fast with certain ***barred word*** in charge; you ride in a V8 aircoditioned car with other presidential convoy costing over $200,000 and you tell a poor teacher to go provide a chalk for the pupils ; WHAT A LOD OF COW DUNG from Mrs Amissah -Arthur ; no doubt her husband Amissah -Arthur was uless as the Vice President
@PADG STOP TRYING TO DIVERT THE ISSUE IN DEFENSE of what the woman said. Bossu, all u need is common s3nse tablet to cure s3ns3 and heal u. The second lady donated those items because she thought we are in the computerised world and definately that school will need those computers to improve their education but u should know for good that chalk is to be provided by government so far s the school is not a private school that the school owner. Madam chalk just keep quiet and let the competent government work cos ur time is over.
@ Bosso. This is why it is said that you people do not read and when you do you do not understand what you read.Look at you a pathetic semi-literate calling somebody[Dan]a ***barred word***.Note that the headmistress never requested for those computers and like what others are saying this woman must have been driven there in a vehicle costing 10,000 times the items she was going to donate when basic items like chalk was not available.If today her husband is an ordinary Joe like the rest of us and she has eaten humble pie, good for her.
@Dan you f0000l waaa... Why should a headmistress who has requested computers etc (except chalk) and those have been graciously given to her by the first lady, then later say you needed chalk??? was it a way to embarrass the first lady or what? So the first lady was right to have made that comment (..why that die-minute request for chalk when you could have included it in the former request-was it deliberate). So the first lady was shocked at the selfishness of the headmistress for request chalk in public whilst they could have improvised....Nkwaasia ns3m..
Yes, you may have a good case but the way and manner you reacted to the headmistresse's request is the issue,you reacted in a way that showed disrespect and arrogance, may be but for the fact that you are the wife of the vice prez at the time, the lady headmistress could have replied you in equal manner publicly after all the school is not her personal property,how do you supply computers to a school that had no chalk,the fuel cost of the V8's that drove you from Accra to the rural school could buy chalk which could last four years,today that lady is still a headmistress but you have lost your position to Samira Bawumia,so next time be careful how you respond to issues in public,anyway where is your husband?,tell him Bawumia is no longer chasing him so he should come out, 'i cant think far'(MAHAMA),'we can think far'(Amissah Arthur)
Upon her explanation and we still hear such comments, I am sorry, we will be where we are and the nation will stagnate. We have polarised the system and the atmosphere is poisoned.
This our former Chalk second Lady is still talking about her chalk wow