I am saddened NPP failed to emulate NDC’s ideals on good governance – Okudzeto Ablakwa

Former deputy Minister for Education under the erstwhile Mahama administration, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, says he is saddened by the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) failure to follow the good governance started by the Mahama-led administration, with regards to strengthening our cultural values.

Okudzeto Ablakwa’s comments is in reaction to the introduction of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), a programme which has been met with fierce opposition from many individuals, religious bodies and civil society organisations, with some indicating that it is a satanic agenda to introduce children to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT).

According to him, Governance is fundamentally about making the right choices and clearly the NPP has failed to follow the good examples of their predecessors.

In comparing both parties contribution to education, Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa said “It is becoming clearer and clearer by the day which of the alternatives is scary with the introduction of the CSE by the Akufo-Addo government. ”

“There can be no possible justification whatsoever for this reckless introduction of CSE,” he noted.

Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa disclosed that he is shocked that Ghana agreed to be placed in the Program Acceleration Countries (PAC) category with five other countries. This decision has left the former Education Minister wondering what urgent deficiency the Akufo-Addo led administration was trying to address when his administration launched the CSE on 1st February, 2019.

Meanwhile, The Ghana Report has gathered that the Comprehensive Sexuality Education guideline indicates that, the programme would enable pupils acquire accurate and reliable information on sexual rights and reproductive health, develop skills for self development and decision making, sense of self confidence, assertiveness, ability to take responsibility, ask questions and seek help and empathy.

The programme  will also seek to nurture positive attitudes and values, including open-mindedness, respect for self and others, positive self esteem, comfort, non-judgemental attitude and sense of responsibility concerning sexual and reproductive health issues.

Find below is the unedited post from Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa

It is becoming clearer and clearer by the day which of the alternatives is scary.

From my experience serving in the Mahama Administration as Deputy Minister for Education; when the NDC negotiates with our international partners, we do so with the intention to obtain support for our homegrown agenda in education based on our national needs, cultural values and priorities as reflected by the:

$156million World Bank supported Secondary Education Improvement Project (SEIP) which was used to build 23 more Senior High Schools with staff flats, teachers’ bungalows, canteens; upgrading 125 low performing SHS under the Quality and Facilities upgrade component which aims to create more Grade A Schools and ease pressure on the pre-existing few; retrain Science and Mathematics teachers to improve outcomes; provide scholarships for 10,400 students with 6,400 being female beneficiaries;

U.A.70,000,000.00 from the African Development Bank to address the crisis with Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) by launching the Development of Skills for Industry Project (DSIP) which is leading to the establishment of modern TVET Institutions in 10 regions across Ghana;

$80million for the Ghana Reading Action Plan (GRAP) from USAID under the Learning initiative which saw the distribution of over 4.2 million books targeting 2.8 million pupils from KG to lower primary to improve their reading capacity.

It is interesting to observe that all the above projects were declared active with substantial funds left in the accounts of the Ministry of Education at the time the NPP was taking over power on 7th January, 2017.

Governance is fundamentally about choices and that is why it saddens me that the NPP, despite the NDC’s example and without recourse to our cultural values and contextual moral norms chose to negotiate funding from Sweden, Ireland and UNESCO for the introduction of Comprehensive Sexuality Education which affronts everything our society stands for.

Equally shocking is the revelation that Ghana agreed to be placed in the Program Acceleration Countries (PAC) category with five others: Eswatini, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

One wonders what urgent deficiency the Akufo-Addo led Government was trying to address when his Ministers of Education and Health launched the CSE on 1st February, 2019. A critical issue which the GES statement issued a while ago does not address.

There can be no possible justification whatsoever for this reckless introduction of Comprehensive Sexuality Education. The matter in issue reminds me of Sir Ernest Benn’s words: “Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.”

Obviously, seeing that we are now racing against time; the current national resistance must be accelerated faster than the six-country acceleration our Government has signed us on.

Paul the Apostle may now be better understood when he placed premium not on physical cathedrals as he rather exhorted that the Spirit of God ought to dwell in us as the temple of God.

When we are done with this despicable moral destruction of our children, we shouldn’t be surprised when they grow to convert President Akufo-Addo’s cathedral into a brothel.

This alternative has been really scary.