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Sunyani residents applaud Kufuor
Sunyani (B/A) Jan. 17, GNA – Some residents in Sunyani on
Wednesday applauded President J.A. Kufuor for the level of
tolerance and maturity he exhibited in answering questions
in the just ended Jubilee People’s Assembly held at the
Catholic Christ the King Parish Hall in Sunyani.
They however expressed regret in an interview with the Ghana
News Agency (GNA) that even though the programme offered the
opportunity for the citizenry to interact with the
President, some of the questioners asked “insignificant and
insulting” questions, which marred the beauty of democracy
and undermined the image of the presidency.
“Because President Kufuor is a good father, he has the guts
and patience to absorb all kinds of questions but that does
not give anybody the licence to ask useless ones”, Mr. Ansu
Kumi, regional coordinator of the School Feeding Programme
said.
He stated that even though the concept (of the People’s
Assembly) introduced by the NPP government was laudable, the
time allotted for the programme was very short as many
citizens who were in the queues could not get the chance to
pose their questions.
Mr. Albert Ansu, a trader, also noted that “the programme
was very impressive, except that some few individuals asked
irrelevant questions”.
He said the limited time was a deliberate attempt by the
government
to dodge some issues.
Master Kwadwo Amankwaa Antepimbuusa, a student of the
Sunyani
Polytechnic noted that some people wanted to abuse the kind
of democracy introduced by the government to get closer to
the public.
Master Antepimbuusa said although there were more
developmental issues
that could have been dwelt on to know what measures the
government had
taken or was taking to change such situations, they rather
asked questions
that were of no importance to national development.
The student suggested the setting up of a committee that
would sensitize questioners on the importance of the
programme, to check against
any misdemeanour.
Mr. Yaw Gyimah, a 38-year old mechanic in Sunyani said he
appreciated
the programme for the fact that the President came down to
the level of the ordinary people and prayed that it would be
sustained to give the ordinary people the opportunity to
interact with their leaders.
He said, he would be happy if the programme was continued by
successive governments.
Miss Ama Arhin, a Kenyasi-based businesswoman, expressed joy
for seeing the President for the first time and commended
the government for the opportunity.
She said she was disgusted by the choice of words of some of
the questioners and suggested that in subsequent programmes
questioners should be asked to file their questions to be
screened, “because since it is a live programme, such
indecent language should be avoided”.
Mr. Kwabena Tibu-Darko, a bar attendant, said the programme
should have been for a whole day to allow people ample time
to ask enough questions or give suggestions.
Meanwhile, the attitude of Dr Asemforo and Rev Oppong at the
programme has received great condemnation by most residents
of Sunyani as both women, children and men have continued to
castigate them in taxis, bars, offices and at group
discussions.
Most people stated that the two should have exhibited some
decorum and give respect to President Kufuor as the father
of the nation.
GNA
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