Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the 2024 running mate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has admitted that one key reason the party lost support was its failure to listen to citizens. Reflecting on the past year, the former Education and Energy Minister said this oversight eroded public trust and contributed to the party’s electoral setback.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express, Dr. Opoku Prempeh said, “One thing I’ve concluded over the past ten months is that a broken trust between government and the people was at the heart of the results we saw. That trust was lost because we didn’t listen enough.”
When asked what caused the rupture, he was candid: “We assumed too much about what people wanted. We didn’t engage with them early or deeply enough, and that assumption cost us dearly.”
He explained that the period was made even more challenging by global upheavals. Economic shocks, rising health crises, and dramatic increases in the cost of basic goods put unprecedented pressure on governments worldwide. “A container from China that used to cost $1,200 suddenly cost $14,000. Lifetime savings were wiped out. People suffered and died in numbers not seen outside wars or military conflicts,” he said.
Despite these global pressures, Dr. Opoku Prempeh stressed that the NPP’s main failure remained its lack of engagement with the public. “Even in such a difficult context, our biggest mistake was not listening. That failure set the stage for everything that followed,” he noted.
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