Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Minority Leader of Ghana's Parliament, has sounded a warning to the government over its approach to accountability, cautioning that the New Patriotic Party could one day return to power. Afenyo-Markin made the statement on Joy News' The Probe on Sunday, where he expressed concern about the government's strategy of intimidation against the opposition.
Excessive Intimidation Threatens Democratic Culture
Afenyo-Markin alleged that the government has made intimidation part of its strategy to silence the minority. He cited the example of some NPP MPs being investigated over what he considers mere allegations. "The other challenge, really, is that, unfortunately, this government has made intimidation part of its strategy of silencing the minority," he said. Afenyo-Markin declined to name the MPs involved but emphasized that the situation was worrying.
Accountability Must Not Be Used to Intimidate
Afenyo-Markin stressed that the NPP was not opposed to accountability but emphasized that it must not be used to intimidate political opponents unnecessarily. He argued that MPs should be allowed to perform their parliamentary duties without feeling that their submissions could trigger investigations. "For instance, a member of parliament should go through investigations normally," he said. "You shouldn't only call him when he's arguing forcefully on the floor, and you think that that is going against the government."
A Warning Against Future Retaliation
Afenyo-Markin warned against a political culture in which parties retaliate against one another upon gaining power. He said his comments were intended to draw attention to a possible future that could affect the government itself. "When I spoke about bail the last time and it was misconstrued to mean that I am aiming at a particular individual or somebody, I was giving my own colleagues a general picture of how these excesses, if they don't moderate, one day NPP may come into office and there may be some hardliners who may also be pushing that they did it to us, let's also do it to them," he said.
Focus on Delivering on Promises
Afenyo-Markin urged the government to focus on delivering on its promises and tackling Ghana's challenges. He emphasized that governments should instead focus on their mandate of addressing the country's economic challenges. "I believe that governments that are elected can focus on their mandate of tackling the challenges in our economy," he said. "And in tackling, you don't make your opponents a target."
Source: Joy Online
