The Savanna Regional Communication Director of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) ,Mr Malik Basintale has called on the Ghana Education Service, Civil Society Groups and so on to investigate the use of New Patriotic Party (NPP) colours to decorate the entire Damongo Senior High School.
Speaking at a Press Conference held in the Savannah Regional capital of Damongo on Thursday 26th September, 2019, Mr Basintale said sometime in August 2018, a directive was issued and signed by the head of Public Relations Unit of the Ghana Education Service, Cassandra Twum Ampofo, directing all heads of second cycle institutions not to allow Political Activities in any form on their campuses.
According to Basintale, the directive came on the back of allegations that Mr Joshua Akamba, a National Organizer Aspirant of the NDC visited the Tempane SHS in the Upper East Region where students out of disappointment and frustration decided to pour out their grievances of the unhealthy living conditions in their school.
“Due to this, on 8th October, 2018, the GES suspended Mr Dominic Ndegu Amolale, Headmaster of Tempane SHS. This became a serious national issue with Child’s Rights International disagreeing with the suspension of the headmaster, which the Director General of Ghana Education Service, Prof Akwasi Opoku Amankwa gladly defended. Mr Akamba was equally invited by the BNI to help in the investigations” he said.
He further made reference to another directive issued by the Ghana Education Service on the 12th August, 2012 which reads in part…”It is announced for the information of all heads of second cycle schools that ‘No Political Activities in Any Form’ must be allowed to take place within the confines of any public second cycle school” and this directive after its issuance was incorporated into the Ghana Education Service code of conduct for all first and second cycle institutions. It stand to reason that every Ghanaian is obliged to adhere to such directives.
Mr Basintale therefore said it is unbelievable that the very Damongo Senior High School that was denied former President Mahama to address party faithfuls with the excuse of a ban on political activities on various campuses in the country is today being decorated like the NPP national party office.
Below is the full Press Conference read by Malik Basintale:
PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE SAVANNAH REGIONAL NDC ON THE BRANDING OF DAMONGO SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL IN NPP COLORS, THE ABUSE OF POWER BY THE NPP AND THE DELIBERATE FLOUTING OF GES BAN ON POLITICAL ACTIVITIES ON SECOND CYCLE INSTITUTIONS.
26TH SEPTEMBER, 2019
Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press.
Permit me to thank and welcome you on behalf of the NDC for honoring our call even with the urgent nature of our invitation. As the fourth arm of government, we appreciate your sense of duty whenever we call upon you and we wish to continue in that beautiful relationship we have been enjoying with you especially here in the Savannah Region.
Friends from the media, Today’s press conference will be be brief and straight to the point as we wish to expose the hypocrisy of the Nana Addo led NPP government and its agents. This hypocrisy as we seek to expose stand to undermine our growing democracy and impact could impact negatively on teaching and learning in the Damongo Senior High School.
BACKGROUND:
Reference is made to a directive issued by the Ghana Education Service on the 12th August, 2012 which reads in part…”It is announced for the information of all heads of second cycle schools that NO POLITICAL ACTIVITIES IN ANY FORM, must be allowed to take place within the confines of any public second cycle school.” This directive after its issuance was incorporated into the Ghana Education Service code of conduct for all first and second cycle institutions. It stand to reason that every Ghanaian is obliged to adhere to such directives.
We may also recall that sometime in August 2018, another directive and signed by the head of Public Relations Unit of the Ghana Education Service, Cassandra Twum Ampofo, directing all heads of second cycle institutions not to allow POLITICAL ACTIVITIES IN ANY FORM on their campuses. This directive came on the back of allegations that Mr Joshua Akamba, a National Organizer Aspirant of the NDC visited the Tempane SHS in the Upper East Region where students out of disappointment and frustration decided to pour out their grievances of the unhealthy living conditions in their school. Due to this, on 8th October, 2018, the GES suspended Mr Dominic Ndegu Amolale, Headmaster of Tempane SHS. This became a serious national issue with Child’s Rights International disagreeing with the suspension of the headmaster, which the Director General of Ghana Education Service, Prof Akwasi Opoku Amankwa gladly defended. Mr Akamba was equally invited by the BNI to help in the investigations.
THE ISSUES:
Given all the above, one would have thought that the ruling government, its political agents and the NPP party would show leadership by leading to apply and follow the said directive to the letter. How come, the NPP executives in the Damongo Constituency decided to flout this directive by branding the Damongo Senior High School with NPP colors ready to be used as the venue for their upcoming Constituency Conference? This is happening when we have a humans rights lawyer as a President who is looking on for his appointees and party to flout the very laws he swore an oath to defend.
These innocent students at the Damongo Senior High School are to be bombarded with noise and abused by the NPP colors and it’s political activities which can escalate into anything we can’t foresee.
Meanwhile, when the Former President, John Dramani Mahama, came to Damongo in February 2019 to solicit the support and votes of branch executives in the wake of the Presidential Primaries of the NDC, he was denied access to the DASS Assembly Hall 24 hours to the program. The excuse the school gave was that they were only adhering and applying the said directive from GES. What has changed in this case? Is it abuse of power or what?
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Media, isn’t this surprising to note that today, the NPP in government would want to ride on the back of the same directive to deny Former President Mahama access to Damongo Senior High School when in 2016 the habit of constantly visiting Senior High Schools to hold political programs and most times to engage in propaganda was one very known to the NPP especially Dr Mahamudu Bawumia. He was seen on several occasions visiting first and second cycle schools around the country and promising them unrealistic things. This form the basis upon which other NPP bigwigs like Hajia Alima Mahama engaged in same conducts.
We call on the Ghana Education Service, Civil Society Organizations and all other relevant agencies in the Education Sector to as a matter of urgency investigate this case and apply the necessary sanctions to whoever that is involved in this. We can’t pride ourselves as people who practice democracy and the very actors of government who are supposed to uphold the dictates of the law being the lead culprits in flouting and abusing the same law.
-Signed-
Malik Basintale
(NDC Regional Communication Officer, S/R)
Source: nkilgifmonline.com/ Zion Abdul Rauf, Damongo
