NPP Demo Is "Clearly Fraudulent"...To Participate Is To Endorse Their Stance - Kwesi Pratt

The current energy crisis ongoing in the country has raised various controversies in the country.

There has been massive public outcry as a result of the power crisis especially as it has resulted in hardships on businesses and domestic consumers.

Several promises have been made by the ruling National Democratic Congress administration to end the crisis, but the solutions seem so far off.

This has even led to the Minister of Power, Kwabena Agyepong, putting his head on the chopping block and vowing to resign if a solution is not found to the crisis by December.

Government is now raising funds to bring in some emergency power barges from Turkey to help the situation.

Many groups have expressed their intention to demonstrate against the ever-worsening ‘dumsor’. One of these groups is the main opposition party in the country, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The party has set February 18, 2015 to stage a demonstration dubbed 'won gbo' over the issue.

However, speaking to this intended demonstration in a panel discussion on Radio Gold’s Alhaji and Alhaji, the Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jr asked the NPP why they waited for the ruling party to outline measures to stop the ‘dumsor’ before deciding to embark on a protest.

He said President John Dramani Mahama and his spokespersons have already given a clear roadmap in solving the problem; hence does not understand why the NPP still wants to demonstrate…‘why now’ he asked.

…does the NPP have a plan to resolve the energy crisis before December? Is this demonstration a disagreement or disapproval of the plans so far announced? If they agree that these measures (by President Mahama) are reasonable, then why a demonstration?” he queried.

Moreover, Kwesi Pratt is of the oppinion that the NPP is playing a mind game on Ghanaians by saying that their intended demo does not have an NPP tag on it.

He strongly believes anyone who joins in the protest has endorsed the NPP and their ideologies.

"This demonstration is different from demonstrations that have been organised by AFAG, Committee for Joint Action or the Alliance for change; those appeared not to have been party demonstrations and the organisers were drawn from different political parties….this one is an NPP demonstration and it is clear that to participate in this demonstration is to endorse the NPP…" he stated.

According to him, when the protest is organised by a pressure groups there is a ‘pretention’ that it is for a national course.

…but this one it is bare-faced NPP demonstration…I am not saying being a bare-faced NPP demonstration is bad; it is not bad. Political parties can organise demonstrations. They should be bold to say that we are organise this demonstration to further our ambition, interest and so on…but to call a press conference and tell us that it is not an NPP demonstration but a national demonstration, I think it is fraudulent…it is clearly fraudulent" he added.