Assin North Member of Parliament, Kennedy Agyapong, on May 25, 2022; formally announced his intention to seek the governing New Patriotic Party’s nod to lead the party into the 2024 presidential race.
According to him, the motivation to run for the top office was primarily to continue with the legacy of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and to better the lot of Ghanaians especially the youth.
In outlining his vision for the country stated, the lawmaker stated that the one thing he will capitalise upon is to create more jobs for the youth. He made the announcement via video message on the Facebook page of the Announcer Newspaper.
He also stated that he will not take his monthly salary as a President but rather, he will use it in setting up a scholarship scheme that will help brilliant but needy students get the best education they deserve.
“I won’t take salary or perks; any monetary benefit that should be given to me will be used as scholarships to educate the youth who are from poor backgrounds.
“Respectfully even the ‘chop money’ that I give in the house, if I decide to rely on the government salary then I can’t give my wife ‘chop money’ again. I will use the profits from my companies to take care of myself. If Ghanaians will give me either 4 or 8 years as the President, I won’t touch any monies from the state.
“I will establish what is known as a Presidential scholarship so that brilliant but needy students can also get some level of education to the university level,” he noted.
The NPP is championing an agenda called ‘Break The Eight’ as they work to retain political power beyond the eight-year period that every government under the 1992 constitution has governed.
Agyapong’s message to the party’s rank and file is that he is the best man to help the party break the eight.
The party is expected to hold national election to pick a new flagbearer in 2023 ahead of the next polls. Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia and Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyerematen are seen as front runners to succeed President Akufo-Addo.
“When I become the President of Ghana, I will use tourism to develop Ghana. President Akufo-Addo has done very well with his 1 District 1 Factory as well as the Free SHS,” Kennedy Agyapong said.
He praised President Akufo-Addo for the significant improvement he has done within the educational sector, especially with the introduction of his flagship Free SHS.
“Look at the graduates coming up, they need jobs and I can tell you gold, cocoa, all minerals put together; if you develop your tourist sites, it promotes the tourism of the country. There is no way that all that the mineral resources have can be compared to what is in the tourism sector but we have overlooked tourism for so long that I think that, this is the time.
“When Ghanaians give me the opportunity, this is a dream that I have and with discipline, we shall all wake up, and work hard [we can achieve it]. I will enforce discipline in my administration.
“I will introduce the ‘clock system’ so that every government worker that goes to work can be able to ‘clock’ to indicate the time of reporting and vice versa. Time is money and we waste a lot of time in Ghana doing so many things that are unnecessary.
“If you give me the chance within 100 days, I will change the mindset of the people; we have to get a positive mindset to develop this country and we can do it,” Agyapong stressed.
source: Ghana Web
