Former Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. Okoe Boye has admonished his party to be awakened to the tactics of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in pitching Ghanaians against the government’s decision to pay salaries to First and Second Ladies.
Parliament has officially approved the payment of salaries to wives of the President and Vice President.
However, the government’s decision has been condemned by some members of the general public.
With some arguing for and against the decision, a member of the NDC, Sam George has threatened court action against the decision.
Sam George, the Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, argued; ”As far as I am aware there was no arrangement for that, the President’s wife and the vice President’s wife are not article 71 holders.
“I am a Member of Parliament, I personally do not subscribe to that, whether it is an NDC President or an NPP President, your wife is not a Public Officer, you wife is your wife. Are we also going to say that the Spouse of the Chief Justice , the spouse of the Speaker must also be paid? Where do we draw the line. Already they get allowances, they get protection from the state at the expense of the taxpayer and I don’t have a problem with that.”
Discussing the issue on Peace FM’s ”Kokrokoo”, Dr. Okoe Boye stated that the NDC has developed a strategy that is defeating the purpose for the Parliamentary approval of the First and Second Ladies’ salaries.
According to him, the NDC is waging an ”emotional war” and so called the NPP to counteract the opposition’s cunning ways in order to help Ghanaians comprehend the significance of the government’s decision.
”..what I have realized that the NDC is waging an emotional war, our response sometimes must be an emotional strategy. When I say ’emotional strategy’, we can consider options like coming out to tell Parliament that get a bill and now cancel everything so that we listen to the kind of comments that will come from their wives”, he said.
He expounded that the opposition party has decided to ”target the hearts of people”, therefore the NPP ”must be conscious and quickly adjust ourselves, because on the books, everything is right. It went to Parliament…but they’re targeting people on their heart and, as a psychologist, I know when the hearts of people are targeted; it’s difficult to get them to appreciate reasoning”.
