As a product of the Zongos I bet with every pesewa that the establishment of the ministerial portfolio for inner city and Zongo development should be a source of concern if not worry for the NDC rather than a platform for mockery.
President Nana Akuffo may have come under heavy criticism for creating many duplicate ministerial portfolios or perhaps many ministries than the national Kitty can accommodate, but I say with all certainty that the creation of this particular portfolio is the most strategic move in all the appointments he has made so far.
Indeed, it is yet the clearest if not sincere and realist indication that the President is committed to the welfare of the people of Zongo who constitute a significant percentage of the Ghanaian population.
The Zongos undoubtedly are scattered across the length and breadth of this country. Indeed mention a single region that a Zongo does not exist and I will denounce my citizenship of Ghana.
The Zongos like other segments of the Ghanaian voting population traditionally votes for the National Democratic Congress mainly for its social democratic posturing.
The NPP with its capitalist property owning democracy has not enjoyed enough loyalty from people of the Zongos since we migrated into the era of multiparty democracy. In a rather dramatic twist and a complete departure from the political ideology of the NPP, their introduction of a new ministry to handle Zongo and inner-city development is the most strategic social democratic intervention to be introduced by a party with a capitalist orientation.
Believe it or not Nana Addo inadvertently is appealing to the Zongos by this singular act not necessarily because he loves the Zongos.
What this intervention will do if it succeeds is that it will totally erase the perception that NPP is anti-Zongos and secondly reduce significantly the votes and grip of the NDC within the Zongo communities.
Another source of worry is the man to Mann this particular ministry. Boniface Abubakari Sadick is arguably one of the few members of the NPP whose loyalty cuts across the political divide. He is humble and hardworking and can be best described as a darling boy for the Zongo and Muslim community. His appointment should also be a source of worry for the NDC because that man will work.
The NDC must find more pragmatic and innovative ways to reach out to the Zongos and a clear message should be sent out to all communicators on how to handle or discuss the creation of this ministry. Any attempt to ridicule or downplay this initiative by Nana Addo will thwart the efforts of the NDC to maintain a solid grip of the Zongos.
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