NPP acted irresponsibly – Franklin Cudjoe

The Executive Director of Policy Think Tank, IMANI Ghana, Franklin Cudjoe has described the decision by the New Patriotic Party, (NPP), to bring three former South African police officers into the country to provide training to the party’s security detail, as politically immature.

The NPP has received a lot of criticism especially from the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) over the issue.

The three were arrested by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) and were subsequently charged with “conspiracy to commit crime.”

An Accra Circuit Court on Thursday granted them bail, but they were immediately whisked away by the BNI after court proceedings.

Commenting on the matter on Citi FM’s news and current affairs analysis programme, The Big Issue, Franklin Cudjoe said the NPP’s action is an embarrassment to the party and the country as a whole.

“…If I were advising the NPP or any other party that had assumed the role of trying to bring in experts to train some of their own, I will say it was politically immature because in an election year one of the things you don’t want to do is to be seen or to be heard associating with any aspects of this whole idea or bringing in some people to come and train some people..”

“NPP is accusing government of deliberately arresting the people essentially to make it look like they have brought in some mercenaries which is essentially causing an embarrassment to the country, the NPP party itself and… Ghanaians.”

He indicated that it would have been prudent for the party to hold discussions with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and some security officials before deciding to bring the 3 South Africans into the country.

NPP acted irresponsibly

Franklin Cudjoe’s criticism comes days after the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South, Fritz Baffour, chided the NPP for exhibiting what he calls “irresponsibility” in the recruitment of the three.

He said the party clearly side-stepped the laws of the country by taking that decision.