The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has urged Ghanaians to allow the novel coronavirus pandemic be a reason to build a bond of unity among them.
“This pandemic, catastrophic nonetheless, may be our opportunity to turn years of self-destructive tendencies into a constructive people different from the ‘crab theory’ of black people credited to Booker T. Washington by Marcus Mosiah Garvey,” the CPP said in a statement signed by its acting General Secretary, James Kwabena Bomfeh.
The statement followed a meeting by political parties held at the instance of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at Jubilee House on Friday April 3 2020 to discuss issues of the pandemic.
The statement also called on Ghanaians to learn to do away with petty partisan divisions, which have been the bane of the country’s progress right from the foundations.
Politics of consensus
The CPP urged the political parties, whose representatives were at the meeting, to let the forum “become a regular platform for all political groupings towards politics of consultations and consensuses than confrontation, bickering, insults, defaming, fighting, maiming, persecutions and death”, among others.
“Lastly, we wish to reiterate the call earlier made that there should be more of such encounters regarding our joint efforts at national reconstruction. Ghana must always be ours, in the collective, not ‘some versus others’,” the CPP added.
The statement expressed appreciation to President Akufo-Addo “for the show of candour in the decision to meet with political parties in this crisis period.”
Applause
The party applauded the government for being “up to task with a very high level show of concern and interest as we rank among the top 10 countries in Africa with the highest number of cases.”
“The provision of treatment/isolation centres with daily update from technically competent health/medical personnel under the auspices of the Information Ministry must be applauded,” the CPP said.
The statement further applauded the Ministry of Health for the authorization to “use already existing drugs: hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin plus Vitamin C for treatment, though not approved, but have demonstrated to be effective in many patients in France, USA and Italy.”
