Veteran economist and leading member of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Pianim, drew laughter from delegates when he jokingly warned President John Dramani Mahama against helping teachers with housing, saying such a move would embarrass his party.
Mr Pianim made the remark while speaking at the 54th National Delegates Conference of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) in Accra on Monday January 5, where issues affecting teachers, including accommodation, were high on the agenda.
Addressing delegates, Mr Pianim revealed that he had deliberately refused to appeal to the President for housing support for teachers, despite pressure from others to do so.
“Mr. President, here’s a fourth thing I will not ask you for,” he said. “Even though Thomas is very keen on me to say, ask the President to help us with housing, I said no.”
Explaining his decision, the senior NPP figure said his party had failed to adequately address teachers’ housing needs while in government and jokingly suggested it would be politically awkward to see the current administration succeed where the NPP had not.
“I said, we didn’t help you with housing. Why would I let the President help you with housing?” he stated, triggering laughter from the audience.
Mr Pianim then delivered the punchline of his remarks by playfully warning the President of the political consequences of such an intervention.
“So I’ll tell the President, Mr. President, whatever you do, if you help the teachers with housing and put my party to shame, our friendship will break,” he said.
