Onyameba Wants To Be President

Ambitious! Onyameba John Raymond Atta-Kesson wants to be President

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Accra, Thursday September 20, 2012.

ONYAMEBA JOHN Raymond Atta-Kesson, an Accra-based preacher is making feverish preparations to contest the 2012 presidential election as an independent candidate.

He promises that when successful, he would introduce an ideology called the National Interest Democracy (NID) that would wipe out the current partisanship in the body politic of the country.

“This ideology would greatly enhance public-private partnership to guarantee vast employment opportunities and a proactive welfare system for all,” he told journalists at the launch of his campaign at the Accra International Press Centre Tuesday.

Riding on the slogan: “One God, One Nation, One People, One Destiny,” Mr. Atta-Kesson maintained that he was a “passionate advocate” of democracy but did not subscribe to the current democratic system where “everything is done on partisan basis.”

“The essence of our democratic governance has been abused by our modern day political parties and we have no option but to shift to a political ideology that would secure our common national interest against partisan interest politics.”

He said Ghana’s socio-economic problems required what he called an “urgent radical” political solution saying “the insensitivity of all the political parties in government towards the people is alarming.”

“They use our taxes to entrench themselves in office and turn their backs on us. We should all help to change this current system where partisanship overrides national interests.”

Mr. Atta-Kesson said partisan interest adopted by the political parties had “rendered our country administratively dysfunctional.”

“Changing one political party for another would not close the developmental deficit and huge gap that we have because the parties are similar in government and the same in opposition.”

He said his team was embarking on a “unified campaign against partisan interest politics” adding “we do not just need change but rather radical change that will be tangible to every Ghanaian.”

He noted that due to partisanship, the country’s leaders who assumed office with good intentions ended up fleecing the very poor people they were supposed to serve.

“Because they spend huge amounts of money to get elected, they are always thinking about how to recoup the amounts spent and therefore have no time for national development,” he claimed.

“We cannot continue to vote for the same people and expect a change. We have to find an alternative through the ballot and I stand for this cause.”

Asked about his track record, all Mr. Atta-Kesson could say was that “I am a selfless Ghanaian who wants to salvage Ghana’s democracy by encouraging a national interest democracy.”

He said he agreed with President Mahama that the time had come for a youthful person to become President which meant that the President himself was out of the equation because he (Atta-Kesson) is a youthful candidate who is vigorously pursuing the ideals of the youth.

“What is the track record of those who are governing or had the chance to govern? At best their only track record is to supervise our taxes and squander them.”

He said he stood for truth and transparency adding “the people must benefit from the taxes they pay. They have not come to your rescue. All they want from you is to allow them to handle your taxes where they could enjoy.”