CJA misplace credibility

The Kwesi Pratt-led Committee for Joint Action (CJA), a pressure group, was last Thursday at the Takoradi Zenith Hotel given a big jolt when residents in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis snubbed a forum organised by the CJA at the hotel regardless of series of advertisements that heralded it.

Prior to the forum, which was meant for the youth in the Western Region on how they could benefit from the oil discovery, various radio announcements have been made to the effect that the “top dogs” of CJA, including Mr. Kwesi Pratt and some ministers of state would be in attendance and that anyone who gets to the venue after 2:00 p.m., would have himself to be blamed for not getting a place to sit.

Journalists who flocked the venue for the much puffed-up forum in alacrity to get a seat to cover the event were taken aback when as at 2:30 p.m., that the forum was supposed to start, only Nana Kobina Nketsiah V, Omanhene of Essikado Traditional Area, who was the chairman and his linguist were sitting on some of the plastic chairs arranged for the forum.

The journalists, who were taken aback at the sight of the number of empty plastic chairs, started enquiring whether the venue for the CJA forum had been changed.

When this reporter asked around, it was observed that the snubbing of the CJA forum by the residents was an indication that people had lost interest in Kwesi Pratt’s CJA because the attendance at a similar forum the committee organized some years ago at the same venue was enormous.

At about 4:00 p.m., when the moderator for the forum, Paa Duku Quarshie, a staunch member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Takoradi announced that Mr. Kwesi Pratt had arrived, only 34 people were present even though over four hundred (400) plastic chairs had been arranged for the event.

With the hope that the people that would attend the forum would be more than the number of plastic chairs arranged the organizers hired more and packed them behind the arranged ones.

When Mr. Pratt arrived at the venue, one could read from his appearance that he was not satisfied with the number of people he was going to address as he waved to the few devotees present for his homily.

When Today tried to enquire from some NDC activists who used to attend CJA programs at the Zenith Hotel as to why they were not present at the Thursday forum most of them said, “CJA had lost its focus.”

According to them, they had realized the agony they were going through, hence their coming out to partake in the CJA demonstrations and forums to protest against the previous government, had worsened under their own government and did not see the need to waste their time at CJA forum anymore.

Other NDC activists also alleged that some of their colleagues who were with them at CJA led demonstrations were now riding in posh cars while they continue to suffer at the grassroots hence their boycott of the CJA forum.

Addressing the few audience later at the forum, Mr. Pratt bemoaned the rate at which foreigners were being allowed to dominate in almost all sectors of the economy and called on all stakeholders in the oil industry to ensure that Ghanaians, particularly the youth benefit from the country’s black gold.
He also contended that the CJA will continue to protect and defend the interest and resources of this great country and added that as far as he is concerned, the NDC government has not taken the region for granted.

He was saddened that since the colonial era, Ghanaian lawyers continue to wear suits or gowns and wigs introduced by the Whiteman to court and argued that it was time Ghanaians dressed in “Bata Kari” (smock) or any local dress to court to portray to our colonial masters that indeed, we are truly independent.

When the program came to an end at about 7:00 p.m, the number of people at the forum had diminished from the initial 34 to 27.

Other speakers at the poorly attended CJA forum included Mr. Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa, a deputy Minister of Information and Mr. Francis Eghan, a leading member of CJA in the region.