<<Print>>

Professor John Gatsi, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, Thursday, said asking the two major political parties to resolve political vigilantism in the country is a narrow approach.

He said the country’s security challenge should be tackled holistically by all stakeholders because it was much broader and complex.

He said the recent surge in contract killings, robberies, kidnappings, land guard menace, among others, should be tackled with a much strategic approach, instead of asking the two major political parties to resolve one of them.

Prof. Gatsi, also the Head of the Finance Department of the University, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview, to express his views on the President’s State of the Nation address delivered to Parliament on Thursday.

President Akufo-Addo asked the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) to come together and agree on appropriate measures to end the phenomenon of political vigilantism.

The President said he had personally asked the leadership of the NPP to extend an invitation to the leadership of NDC for such a meeting to happen and, thus, suggested next week as a preferable date.

Prof. Gatsi objected to the approach, saying that, the nation’s security was critical because it defined the business investment environment and should be handled with the involvement of all the security agencies and other key stakeholders.

With regard to the performance of the macro-economy, he acknowledged reduction in inflation, policy rate, increase in economic growth and other indicators, but said he would have loved to hear the President mentioned the number of jobs and opportunities created as well as revenues generated with the stabilisation of those indicators.

 He said the nation could not glorify in macroeconomic statistics without translating into physical infrastructural development and wellbeing of the people,