Political analyst Owusu Adjebeng emphasizes that age is a significant factor in politics across the spectrum, unrelated to any limitations in the national policy agenda. While the constitution mandates a minimum age of forty with a sound mind for presidential candidacy, it serves as a general rule without restricting the use of age as a benchmark for competence, skills, and intelligence.
Speaking on the Adekyee Mu Nesm morning show on Ahotor 92.3 FM, hosted by Citizen Kofi Owusu in Accra, Adjebeng contends that a politician’s age does influence policy, though not always as conventional wisdom suggests. Empirically evaluating the causal effect of age on policies poses challenges, but Adjebeng outlines three reasons why age may matter: younger politicians may have a potentially longer political career, a different time horizon and discount rate, and may favor more long-term policies due to increased energy and productivity.
In another development, the Minority caucus on Monday objected to the Majority Leader’s claim that the selection of Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, a woman in her 70s, as the NDC’s running mate signifies a lack of succession planning and visionary leadership within the party. The Majority Leader’s initial refusal to retract his comment, as demanded by the minority caucus, led to a disruption in the debate, prompting the suspension of the house’s proceedings by the Second Deputy Speaker, Andrew Asiamah Amoako.
Upon the resumption of the session, Mr. Afenyo-Markin withdrew his statement, clarifying that his contention was about the lack of a clear succession plan within the NDC and not meant to denigrate their running mate based on age.
Addressing the issue, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang declared that Ghanaian women would not allow anyone to take their peers for granted. She urged her colleagues to be mindful of their words and emphasized the need for respectful and empowering language, especially when discussing women in politics.
“We, the women of Ghana, will not tolerate anybody undermining one of the women who has dared to achieve what we want. Let’s be guided in how we do politics, even in the chamber,” she asserted.
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