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Don’t devalue National Honours – NDC
Chairman
Accra, June 25, Ghanadot/GNA – Mr. Daniel Nii Okai, Chairman
of the Odododiodioo Constituency of the National Democratic
Congress (NDC), has called on President J. A. Kufuor and the
government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to ensure
that the dignity and value of national honours were
maintained.
Speaking in Accra on Wednesday, he noted that, national
honours were conferred on citizens and other persons for
their notable achievements and contributions, especially to
national development.
He said that, since the institution of national honours by
the first President of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah under the
National Honours Warrant of the Republic of Ghana (1960),
only a few people who made notable and outstanding
contributions were given national awards and that had made
the honours valuable.
Mr. Okai noted that since the assumption of office by the
NPP, the number of people being given such awards by the
President had been on the increase.
He described the list of over 240 for this year as, “too
long and unwieldy, which debased and devalued the awards.”
The NDC Constituency Chairman stated that, the government
was now using national honours to reward its cronies and
agents who instead of their achievements towards national
development were being recognized for their mediocre and
partisan stance” towards the cause of the ruling party.
“A list of over 240 for national honours cannot be inspiring
enough for the youth”, Mr. Okai said, adding, “many of the
people listed for the awards cannot be said to have made any
outstanding and meaningful contribution towards national
development”.
“Many of them cannot claim to have made any outstanding
contribution towards the advancement of the course of Ghana
to be recognized with national honours apart from their
service to the NPP”, he said.
Mr. Okai said merely adding the names of some prominent
members of the opposition on the list could not make it,
“dignified”.
“No wonder some prominent members of the opposition
mentioned for the honours have rejected the awards” for
various reasons, including the government’s manipulation of
the judiciary to throw “honest and decent citizens into
jail, just because they are not for the NPP, which has vowed
to destroy the NDC”, Mr. Okai said.
He wondered if the long list had not been published only to
satisfy NPP members who criticized the President for naming
the flag bearer of the NDC, Professor Atta Mills, which they
said, promoted him instead of the NPP Presidential Candidate
and said the long list, was only to “water down” the honour
the NDC candidate rightly deserved.
The NDC Constituency Chairman stated that, “those decent
citizens who have rejected the honours from President Kufuor
should be commended for their boldness”, adding, “the
government of the NPP should not throw dust into the eyes of
the people to score cheap political points, now that we are
in an election year”.
“Such an omnibus list for national honours can not be
anything but a ploy to further the political fortunes of the
NPP”, he said.
He urged those with self-esteem who had been named for
national honours only as an appeasement to project the
government as a reconciliatory one to reject them since the
awards had been “devalued, debased and only a window
dressing”.
GNA
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