Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has explained why president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo must be awarded ‘world’s most arrogant beggar.’
The MP, an ardent critic of the government, hinged his views on recent statements aimed at the diplomatic community as contained in the president’s March 8 State of the Nation’s Address (SoNA).
The president’s specific statement that some diplomats were taking advantage of freedom of speech to say things Ghanaian counterparts cannot say in their home countries, caught Ablakwa’s attention.
In his initial comments, posted on Facebook after the SoNA, the Ranking Member on Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament wrote: “President Akufo-Addo’s unhinged attack of the diplomatic corps during his message on the state of the nation is most repugnant, illogical and intolerant.
“He cannot accuse diplomats of joining the national discourse when he was the very person who invited them by begging for debt cancellation after grossly mismanaging the Ghanaian economy.”
Ablakwa described the president’s posture as that of one who was begging for benevolence of western countries but refusing their advice on downsizing and cutting down “extravagant expenditures as the German Ambassador counseled recently.”
“I hope President Akufo-Addo’s impervious posture this morning does not derail already difficult bilateral negotiations on Ghana’s external debt restructuring.
“President Akufo-Addo must definitely win the prize for the world’s most arrogant beggar,” the MP added.