A leading member of the ruling NDC, Chris Ackumey says he does not think Kobby Acheampong, the Deputy Minister for the Interior, should be sacked for referring to Nana Akufo–Addo, the flagbearer of the NPP as a fruitcake. He said the calls for Mr. Acheampong or any other person's dismissal is “far fetched,” insisting there has not been any time in the past where a minister has been sacked for insulting an opponent and that it should not be the case now, recounting situations in the past where ministers in the erstwhile Kufuor administration also used similar intemperate language. Mr. Ackumey, a panelist on Joy FM's current affairs programme, Newsfile, also televised live on MultiTV on Saturday, who was proffering his opinion on calls by the General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church, Dr. Mensa Otabil to end political insults, said the call was timely. Dr. Otabil on Friday blamed the media and politicians for the deteriorating state of affairs in the country stressing it was time for these two groups to focus on discussing developmental issues that will inure to the benefit of the country. There have been further calls from the Christian Council of Ghana and the New Patriotic Party for Kobby Acheampong to be sanctioned with the NPP calling for his head, but Mr. Ackumey believes his colleague has done nothing wrong. He said whatever Mr. Acheampong said should be examined within the context that it was said in order to get the right meaning and that there was no need to sanction him when others have not faced such fates in the past. Touching on the role the media has played in the situation, Mr. Ackumey said the media should not be held responsible for the problems of the country, saying “you know the role of the media is to hold the mirror up to society so that we can see our reflection and change so if the media is doing that, I don’t see anything wrong with it.” He intimated that the media should rather be encouraged because it has drawn our attention to the deteriorating nature of the political discourse which has given stakeholders a reason to change from their ways. Blaming politicians and the society as a whole, Mr. Ackumey admonished that “this trend of hurling insults not only on political opponents but on everybody which is reaching a crescendo in this country or in our society should be halted.” He nonetheless re-echoed views from some key NDC members who seem to believe that the civil society and religious groups go to sleep when uncharitable remarks are made by members of the NPP and demanding to know why they are talking now. “If you leave the egg of a serpent to grow into a snake you [will] find it difficult to kill it. "If you had broken that egg instantly, this kind of problem will not have arisen.” A former Minister of health in the Kufuor regime, Dr. Richard Anane who was also on the programme, blamed the media for the rate at which insults have riddled our political landscape. He said the media must take full responsibility for peddling such insults and falsehood just so they can make more revenue. He further accused the media of concocting stories and expecting individuals to come and deny them. He said such baseless stories destroy politicians who may not have time to defend themselves and this has dire consequences on their reputations. Dr. Anane indicated that the media’s folly could be coming from the past where they were gagged and prevented from voicing out their concerns and contributing to political debates. He however advised political leaders to be careful with what they say stressing, there is no need to always respond to whatever allegations or insults that are leveled against them. “I think you only have time if you are not working. If you are seriously working you have no time to be responding to insults,” he said. Story by Derick Romeo Adogla/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana