The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has criticised the John Mahama government, saying it is paying attention to the wrong issues instead of solving the country’s biggest problems.
The criticism follows the alleged arrest of one of the party’s constituency communicators.
Afoakwa Albert, Deputy Secretary of the NPP in the Asante Akyem South Constituency, said Ghanaians want the government to focus on creating jobs, improving cocoa prices and recruiting more people into the public sector instead of carrying out what he described as politically worrying arrests.
Speaking on Wednesday, 5 August, Albert linked the alleged arrest of the constituency’s communications officer, Richard Nana Basoah, popularly known as “Papa Rich”, to what he believes is a disturbing trend under the current administration.
According to him, the way Basoah was reportedly picked up has raised concerns about the country’s democracy.
“I think this must be condemned. This is wrong,” Albert said.
He also referred to the June 30, 1982 murder of three High Court judges and a retired army officer, saying the reported circumstances surrounding Basoah’s arrest reminded him of a period Ghana should have left behind.
“We have passed that stage in the history of Ghana. We have passed that stage. We are in a democracy,” he said.
Albert added that the incident has left many NPP communicators worried because they do not know who could be targeted next.
“I’m also a communicator for the party and we don’t know the next person that they may be targeting,” he said.
He then turned his attention to the country’s economic challenges, saying these are the issues the government should be addressing.
Albert pointed to the government’s planned teacher recruitment exercise, arguing that many trained teachers are still unemployed and waiting for jobs.
“Ghanaians want solutions to their problems, not arrest,” he said.
He also criticised the government’s plans to recruit into the security services. According to him, more than 500,000 people have applied, yet only about 10,000 are expected to be recruited.
On cocoa, Albert said farmers deserve a better share of the international cocoa price and urged the government to ensure they benefit more from rising prices on the global market.
He further criticised what he described as the government’s failure to recruit nurses and teachers since the National Democratic Congress (NDC) returned to office in January 2025.
Albert said the government should focus on creating jobs and improving the economy instead of taking actions that could create fear among political opponents and ordinary citizens.
“Ghanaians want solutions to their problems, not arrest,” he repeated.
Albert’s comments come as the NPP continues to demand answers over the alleged arrest of Richard Nana Basoah. The party says his whereabouts are still unknown.
The Asante Akyem South Constituency has reported the matter to the municipal police command and says it is meeting to decide its next steps.
