Kennedy Ohene Agyapong’s aspiration to lead the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) is suffering a surprise attack from within the companies he has been mentioning as his trump card to the presidency.
From his Kencity company operators of Net2 TV and Oman FM, have come unpleasant stories from workers.
They complain about the poor conditions of service, low remuneration amongst others. But the argument for him is that, most of his companies are not making profit, hence he heavily relies on procurement contracts from government, including the Ministry of Energy, Ghana Cocoa Board and others for survival.
One of them, a journalist, is said to have been stricken by a stroke while on the job, but the company is yet to give him any package to meet his medical requirements and provide for his family. The ailing man, The Herald learnt, has been abandoned.
There are claims that the gentleman had not even been visited by the presidential aspirant. Last month, Mr Agyapong, highlighted his ability to manage the economy and create jobs, positioning himself as a better candidate than his competitors.
“I have the biggest Cold Store in the whole of Africa,” Agyapong said during his campaign tour. “But I pay 7,158 workers every month in this country. So between the two of us, who is the strategist?”
He emphasized his track record as a successful businessman, employing over 7,000 workers, and expressed his readiness to contribute to reducing the unemployment rate in the country.
“With my Steel Plant, I am employing thousands of workers in this country in the next few months,” Agyapong stated.
He noted that as someone who currently employs 7,158 workers across the globe, he was better placed to create employment opportunities for the youth.
The Assin Central MP, gave that assurance when he paid a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of Tepa, Nana Adusei Atwenewa Ampem I, at his palace in the Ashanti Region.
But insiders talked about how the institution runs on his mood swings rather than an effective administrative process. They wonder how he would be able to administer the NPP, as well as the country based on his unpredictable moods which come with insults and venom.
The ruling party holds its Special Delegates Congress for its Presidential candidates on Saturday, August 26, 2023 to sieve the number of aspirants from the current number of ten to five and Mr Agyapong, has been mentioned as one of the aspirants making significant strides in the contest.
Many polls projected him to come third after Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia, former Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen.
Most of the workers are indeed shocked to hear the Assin Central MP, promising NPP delegates to change their lives when he is elected flagbearer and goes on to become the President of Ghana, when he had not changed their lives.
Many of them are reported to be spending time in the offices of some ministers of state daily, begging for money to meet their financial needs.
The presidential aspirant is reported to have shaken the foundations of other aspirants as he promises some constituency chairmen GH¢100, 000 each, if they vote for him on Saturday.
‘Assin Fosu Bill Gate’ as Ken is popularly called is targeting 30percent of the special delegates to be able to make a strong statement against the establishment and also propel his campaign ahead of the main elections on November 4, 2023.
Last week, Mr Agyapong and his team, met with some special delegates from the Central region and gave each GH¢ 5,000 as initial money and promised the add-ons on the day.
His message to them was that he is one of them and so should vote for him since he has been contributing financially to these regions since time immemorial and should follow suit with what delegates from other regions will be doing for their kinsmen.
In a different meeting with some Regional Executives and Some Chairmen, he admonished them to stand with him and also promised each 100k if he wins empathically in his home region.
He is also considering replicating this in Volta, Oti, and Greater Accra regions with selected chairmen.
Ken Agyapong, who boasts a huge ‘money chest’ made possible in part by his stint in Kufuor’s government and other contracts under the current regime is targeting 30% in the August 26 special election, despite this, this paper’s sources within the ruling NPP are tipping the Vice President, Dr. Bawumia to win emphatically with not less than 70% of the votes.
Many of Mr. Agyapong’s workers get surprised at the kinds of money mentioned in connection to him as being handed to party people. The cars and other things he brought were handed to his party while they are living in abject poverty and misery.
Mention was made of a citrus company he set up in the Assin area, known for its huge orange farms and was to process orange into concentrate. However, the factory shutdown few months into production because the MP could not manage it well. They wondered how such a personality could run the country.
Meanwhile, reports making the rounds in the party is that the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, recently paid Mr. Agyapong some huge cash as payment from his numerous procurement jobs, and some of this is being used by him to fund his presidential ambition.
The 10 aspirants are Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, immediate past Minister of Trade; Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia; Kwadwo Poku, an Energy Expert; Boakye Kyeremateng Agyarko, a former Minister of Energy and Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, a former General Secretary of the NPP.
The rest are Kennedy Agyapong, Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, an Economist; Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, immediate past Minister of Food and Agriculture; Joe Ghartey, a former Attorney General and Minister of Railways and Francis Addai-Nimoh, a former MP for Mampong.
Leader and Founder of the Ghana Union Moment (GUM) and Life Assembly Worship Centre, Christian Kwabena Andrews, popularly known as Osofo Kyiri Abosom has tipped Alan Kyerematen, Kwabena Agyapong and Kennedy Agyapong as his favorites.
However some leading members of the NPP think the era where flagbearership position in the party was a preserve for Akans is over.
The MP for New Juaben South Constituency who doubles as the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Michael Okyere Baafi has stated it is now time for other tribes to also take over to lead the party as Presidential candidate and to ascend the Presidential seat.
Speaking on GHOne TV’s State of Affairs, Kyiri Abosom describes the three personalities as the positive ones.
“When I compare all of them, the positive ones that I think will be a good person sincerely are Kennedy Agyepong and Kwabena Agyepong. Alan will tell you they did not give him a chance to perform. Alan, Kwabena Agyepong and Kennedy Agyepong, when these people should come together then they can do something.
“I am praying that one of these people that I mentioned will get the nod. Dr. Bawumia no, no. I know many people support Dr. Bawumia because they know Bawumia is very soft. Dr. Bawumia we can rule over him, Bawumia he can’t do anything so let’s push that man,” Osofo Kyiri Abosom stated.
Source: theherald
