The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has deplored the uncompromising positions taken by both the Majority and the Minority sides in Parliament on issues bordering on national interest.
He said such intransigent stands did not augur well for the country’s democracy and could create room for an insurrection.
“When the art of governance becomes overly rigid and inflexible, it invites the search for an irresistible force and an unorthodox path for resistance. Or, if you like, when you tempt fate too often, you risk the danger of fate descending with unintended consequences,” he cautioned.
Compromise
Speaking last Sunday night at the launch of the commemorative gold coin to mark two decades of his enthronement and also to recognise his peace initiatives, Otumfuo Osei Tutu called on both sides of the House to learn to concede and compromise.
“Governments must always have the humility to acknowledge and embrace useful inputs from all sources,” he said.
He said the good people of Ghana took great pride in their commitment to democratic governance and had been proud to be an oasis of peace in an “isle of torrent and our record as a thriving democracy has served us well”.
The Asantehene, however, observed that “democracy is not a static object; nothing in statecraft really is. Democracy is work in progress”.
He said the situation where the Majority allowed the Minority to have its say, while the Majority had its way could not be allowed to continue and called on the House to try to meet each other.
He said one word that had come “to symbolise the life blood and soul of democracy is ‘compromise’”.
“Whether you are navigating through the labyrinths of international diplomacy or confronting the intractable issues of domestic politics, from the United States to Germany, from Israel to
Japan, through all the land proclaiming their faith in democracy, the name of the game is compromise,” he said.
Do your workOtumfuo Osei Tutu encouraged Members of Parliament (MPs) to continue to do their best, as the electorate was watching their performance and would decide their fate at the end of the day.“The people listen, observe and weigh what their leaders do over time and pass their judgment at the appropriate time. So our parliamentary representatives can be assured that their contributions in the House are not wasted.“The people have noted them and, no doubt, they will reflect on them when the time comes to determine the next phase […]
