Presidential Staffer Dr Clement Apaak has said there are “vampires, who are sucking the blood of this country dry” and also opposed to government’s plans toward developing the country.

He feels it will take the patriotism and contribution of every citizen to realise the objective of transforming the country into a middle class one with employment opportunities in abundance.

Dr Apaak was speaking in an interview with Ekow Mensah-Shalders on Class91.3FM’s Executive Breakfast Show in connection with Ghana’s state of affairs after 59 years of independence.

Dr Apaak said despite efforts by government to improve things in the country, there were people opposing the implementation of such plans for their selfish gain.

“There are people, who would rather wish that we keep importing simply because it is an easier way for them to gain the same amount of wealth, so they can lord themselves over citizens, even including government,” Dr Apaak claimed.

“This is not about NPP and NDC. The fight at stake is about those external forces and their assigns in this country, who are doing everything possible to kill and thwart domestic efforts to the benefit of their colonial and now metropolitan paymasters in the Bretton Woods [institutions] and the Canadas and the USAs.

“These are the issues that we have to confront. Patriotism is the only thing that can save us from the vampires, who are sucking the blood of this country dry at the detriment of the good people of this nation.”

According to him, Ghana must focus on producing raw materials and commodities in which the country has a comparative advantage.

He was of the view that the transformation of the unemployment situation goes beyond politics and will take time for the results to show.

He indicated that on a long-term basis, the Mahama-led government has made inputs in the 40-year development plan to address the situation.

“We all agree that we must focus on the comparative advantage that we have in terms our natural resources,” Dr Apaak explained.

“If you look at the 40-year agenda led by Dr Nii Moi Thompson and the president’s transformational agenda, he is talking about how we can recalibrate the fundamentals of our economy, so that we can take full advantage to produce what we have an advantage over.”

He questioned why the exportation of salt cannot transform the country due to its huge potential and abundance in the country.

“Our neighbours, Nigeria import in excess of 1 billion tonnes of salt from Brazil every year. Ghana has the capacity to provide more, but why are we not taking advantage of that?” he wondered.

Dr Apaak, therefore, advocated the collective implementation of the right mechanisms and structures to make the developmental programmes a success.