A Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Fifi Kwetey, is urging his own party, the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to be bold in exposing every organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military or technology issues and who exhibit a semblance of neutrality but underneath the veneer are in actual fact allies of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The NDC believes IMANI and other policy think tanks are deliberately chipping away the achievements and credibility of the NDC as part of a grand agenda to boost the chances of the opposition NPP in the next general elections, with some even admonishing the leadership of the NDC to boycott any debate organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).
Felix Kwakye Fosu, an Oil and Gas Analyst and a member of the NDCs Communication Team branded the IEA and other policy think tanks in the country as surrogates of the NPP.
According to him, the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Gh), IEA and IMANI all hide under the guise of civil society organizations when in fact they are working for the NPP, hence lack credibility to be the arbiter of Ghanaian politics.
Commenting on the issue in an interview with Citi FM during �EyeWitness News�, the Deputy Finance Minister said his concern is not with what the various think tanks who are in support of the NPP do.
�My concern has to do with my own party; our inability to take on these groups who are clearly pretending to be neutral but all along pushing other agenda and our inability to expose who they are�you�re clearly looking at people who when one regime is there they pretend not to see anything�we should have the boldness to expose these people who are trying to be in the middle but are yet pushing certain agendas�,� he said.
But in a rather sharp rebuttal on the same platform, Executive Director of IMANI, Franklyn Cudjoe dismissed the claim by the NDC as �childish� when he rhetorically asked; �how can somebody make such a very childish statement like that?�
He was emphatic that one needs not be a member of a political party or affiliated with a policy think tank before wrong things can be condemned. To him, if something is not right and needed to be condemned, it will be condemned.
��every Ghanaian has legitimate reason to question you on various policies. When you are in government, you don�t expect to be praised all the time. You don�t have to expect that every time people will shout praises at you�,� he added.
According to him, the research team of the government is engaged in propaganda instead of looking at the real issues on grounds.
Source: Rebecca Quaye/Peacefmonline.com
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