Politician must ascertain real needs of people •Ga Mantse tells Akufo Addo

The Ga Mantse, King Tackie Tawiah III, has urged politicians to ascertain the real needs of the people and include such findings in their manifestos.
This, he explained, would afford them the opportunity to have the proper insight into the real concerns of the voters and be in a proper position to address them.
Nii Tawiah made the call when the flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, led leading members of the party to pay a courtesy call on the Ga Traditional Council in Accra yesterday.
The NPP entourage included the Chairman, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Prof. Mike Oquaye, Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Anthony Abayifaa Karbo, the National Youth Organiser, Mr Yae Osafo Maafo, a former Minister of State, Nii Armah Ashittey, Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the party, Dr Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe, a former Ambassador, and some Members of Parliament.
They were welcomed to the Ga Mantse Palace in North Kaneshie amidst firing of musketry, singing and dancing by both people from the palace and NPP supporters. This is the second visit by Nana Akufo Addo to the palace in three weeks.
The NPP team presented 10 maxi bags of maize, five bags of palm fruits, 10 25-litre containers of oil, 10 cartons of minerals, five crates of beer and five cartons of Schnapps to the Ga State for the celebration of the Homowo.
According to the Ga Mantse, it is always better for the politician to get people they want to lead, because in most cases politicians think that they know what the ordinary people want by standing afar.
He commended the NPP for organising an excellent grass-roots election involving over 100,000 party supporters throughout the country, which was hailed as historic, peaceful and transparent.
He said the NPP had set a good example which must be emulated by other political parties and added that the Ga State would consider using a similar system in the selection of some of its leaders. The Ga Mantse noted that politicians as leaders had always had great influence on a great number of their supporters and said it would be in the interest of society if they resorted to the use of decorous language.
He said when the politician did that, they set good examples for their following and thereby sanitise political discourse in the country.
The Ga Mantse reminded politicians that Ghana was practising multiparty democracy, which meant that people would have choices and decide which political party they would want to associate with.
He said this did not that mean people should perceive their political opponents as their sworn enemies, but they should perceive them as Ghanaians with different views and persuasions, hence the need to accommodate their views.
Nana Akufo Addo said his second visit was to inform the Ga State that he had been elected as the flag bearer of the NPP and also to thank the state and Ga Mantse and his elders for their prayers and advice when he called on them some three weeks ago.
He said as someone who grew up in Accra, he had always known Homowo to be a peaceful and enjoyable festival and expressed the hope that this year’s would be same.
He said he was of the view that King Tawiah’s reign would be one of the most successful periods in the Ga Kingdom.