Doors to Diplomacy 2006 Project 4234,
Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast, Ghana
Mr. Kwabena Agyapong
Government spokesman and Press secretary to the president.
The office of the president, Osu Castle, Accra.
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TEAM: What do you think is democracy? Does it has anything to do with politics?
MR.AGYAPONG: the people have tried to define democracy the way they see it, but the essential definition of democracy is government by the people, for the people and of the people as defined by Abraham Lincoln. Which means democracy vests the power of determination in the individual. It is the collective good will or decision of the people which prevails .Democracy is where the majority rules. It is a better form of governance than having been ruled by force. Democracy offers everyone the opportunity to express their opinion so that you can make a choice. The very essence of democracy says that there should be a constitution , there should be laws so that we can resolve our differences. I think it is good in the sense that it offers the population an opportunity to reveal progress or otherwise to reaffirm their confidence in the government.
TEAM: other countries do not practice democracy but yet are doing well. What do you have to say about that?
Mr. Kwabena Agyapong in an interview with a team member.
MR.AGYAPONG: well their definition of democracy again may be quite different. If you talk to brother Quathafi, he will tell you that he is not the president but a leader. They call him “THE GUIDE”. It may be that we may have a different definition of what democracy is with reference to Egypt. I think it has even moved from a one-party state to a multi-party state. They used to have one party where the president is chosen or elected from that particular party. Last year they had a multi-party election where other parties were allowed to bring up presidential candidates. I think generally, people believe that it is a better way . in Libya they are practicing what is known as participatory democracy that is their definition. There are a lot of people that may disagree, but that is their definition.
TEAM: Do you think politics is a dirty game?
MR.AGYAPONG:I think it is a combination of ignorance and perhaps they looking at our political history. Ghana will be 50 years next year and more than half of that time, we were under military dictatorship. And these military dictators did not help our country. During this era, people were stripped off their property, people lost their lives, at the end of the day, there is nothing to show some of these things. There are those who also feel that there are too many examples of former ministers of state who have embezzled state funds, etc. they classify and generalize, saying that all politicians are crooks and rogues.
I don’t quite subscribe to this notion. But, I think it is ignorance and sometimes frustration and lack of progress in society. The country is under developed therefore majority of the people are underprivileged, and therefore, in their frustration they tend to think that any political authority is a self seeker, but that is wrong. Everybody should strive to serve their community and when you get that opportunity and you serve well, people will bear witness that being in politics is not about amassing wealth, that to serve in a dignified manner and that is my motivation for being in politics.
TEAM: do you think politics can be linked to a game?
MR.AGYAPONG: I think yes, politics is a peaceful and serious game. Politics is a contest of ideas, you must be abreast with power so as to handle authority while some think it’s about chasing national interest. Others think politics is about life and death. They are prepared to go any length to win power. So I think politics is essentially a game about the way of life. You cannot stay in a country and say you are not interested in politics and turn back and accuse government. So there are others, who would call politics as a dirty game, but politics is a competition of ideas, you have to win the heart of the electorates. And you do so by elaborating what your programme is to them.
TEAM: What do you think is the role of the media in politics?
MR. AGYAPONG: The role of the media not only in politics but in our lives is being a credible mediator. As they call them the fourth estate of the realm. There are three main estates the first being the executive that is the government in power and the second the legislature that is the representation of the people and the judiciary who are vested with the power to interpret the laws of our land. The media has become a guard, if you have a free and vibrant press they have the opportunity to ensure that all the players in the political environment are kept on their toes ones they expose wrong doings they report what is happening at the seat of the government and also in our general lives. So when you have a credible media and they investigative, objective and principled then you are getting somewhere. The media also ensures that political officials and those in authority do not infuse impunity into the society because there are chances that the media will pick it and blow it up. The media has to report accurately to criticize and analyze to educate and to inform. Let go back to the history of Rwanda where a media report on a radio ignited a civil war and about one million human beings were slaughtered that is an irresponsible media practice. Today some of the newspapers, radio stations are being founded by various political parties that is dug into very tight opposition that is not a
responsible media practice. Ghana some of the media houses have been purposely to engage in politics. I think that should not be the role of the media, if you want to be the mouth piece of a particular political party you should be called as so I think they should be able to criticize where it is necessary to do so.
TEAM: were you hoping, or did you imaging yourself as a politician.
MR.AGYAPONG: As a youngster, I wasn’t too interested in politics. I was essentially an academician. But as I grew and reached the university, I became a little interested because of the lefties and the communist. Those who believed in the lefties and communist ideology. Those were the days of the cold war. It was the east and west dividing the world and all the time student politics was being dominated by those on the left. Those so called “populace communist”. It was during our time that we got so fed up. And when the student leadership aligned itself with the PNDC in 1981, and all of us had to be sent home for a year for no reason in the first year of the university. When we got back to school, most of us said “look we cannot leave this politics on campus to those lefties that is why I am in politics. Good people should not leave politics for the bad ones to control. So that was my first brush of politics .since that time, I have been interested in knowing what is around me. Because if you don’t, someone else will do it for you. That is why I am in politics to ensure that good people run the country and run properly, so that my country will benefit.
TEAM: did you occupy any position back in school and after school?
MR.AGYAPONG: I was library prefect of Mfantsipim School in 1981, then president of the civil engineering society, and also president of the Mfantsipim Old Boys Association in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.