Vice President John Dramani Mahama, on Wednesday called on Foot soldiers of various political parties in the country to be sacrificial to the progress of their parties, instead of prioritizing their personal satisfaction.
He said that "If foot soldiers in the ruling government have to take over certain key public offices like National Health Insurance and other services because their party is in power, then they should as well be prepared to relinquish those positions to their opponents when their party leaves office, since one particular party cannot be in power forever."
Vice President Mahama said these when he launched the Centre for Freedom and Accuracy (CFA), a new non-governmental media organization, at the British Council Hall, in Accra.
The CFA is aimed at promoting, defending and deepening the culture of free enterprise in Ghana, through collaboration with the government and training of media practitioners and members of the law enforcement institutions.
Vice President Mahama asked foot soldiers to be moderate in their demands bearing in mind that they were first and foremost Ghanaians like others in the political divide.
"This problem of foot soldiers is not only in the National Democratic Congress, we saw it during the New Patriotic Party administration and similar things are recurring in this regime and how can we grow with such behaviour?, he asked.
On the growth of private sector business in Ghana, the Vice President said government would soon come out with phase two of the Private Sector Development Plan, which would create sufficient room for effective collaboration between the Public and Private sectors in the country.
Vice President Mahama said the local content bill was receiving special attention and when passed into law, it would adequately promote Ghanaian participation in the socio-economic development.
He condemned the politicization of private sector business as that could lead to the collapse and retrogression of the country's economy.
Vice President Mahama said "If a new government in power will have to frustrate a private business person perceived not to be a political ally, then you can imagine how that can stall growth and development."
He challenged the Association of Ghanaian Industries and other private sector associations to come out with modalities that would seek to protect and promote the growth of the private sector in the coming years.
Mr. Andrews Awuni, Executive Director of CFA, said that the group would dialogue with the regulatory institutions and monitor the media for any populist tendencies and press them to support deregulation and privatization in the country.
"In this job, we shall not hesitate to mobilize negative feedback to news and other media offerings by way of individual calls and letters of protest, organize actions such as picketing and boycotts, lawsuits and even parliamentary hearings on behalf of private businesses.
Vice President Mahama said that it was only the private sector that had the answer to growing unemployment rate in the country and called on the government and private organizations to offer useful suggestions for the grow of the private sector.
Mr. Samuel Okudzeto, a renowned lawyer, attributed the poor performance of the private sector to over politicization and lack of adequate funding to support the sector.
He appealed to politicians to bury their differences and educate their party loyalists against immediate satisfaction as that was inimical to development and growth.
"Your political opponent is not a leper, he is a Ghanaian like you, and there is no need rating yourself high above him", he advised.