The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has proposed the establishment of a legally-backed committee to oversee the issuing of state awards.

According to him, such a committee should be established in the future and should be backed by law, with the mandate to carefully identify and honour deserving citizens who have made significant contributions to the country’s development.

He said, "I want to suggest to the people of Ghana that it is high time we establish a proper committee, backed by law, that will determine who should receive a national award."

Mr Nketia made these comments following the state awards ceremony held in Accra on Monday, December 30, under the auspices of the outgoing president, Nana Akufo-Addo.

He argued that many of the individuals honoured by the president did not deserve the recognition. He criticized Nana Akufo-Addo for awarding his cronies without considering their real contributions to the nation’s development.

For him, one of the awardees, the outgoing Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East and Minister for Fisheries, Hawa Koomson, was undeserving of the honour. He questioned, "Why would anyone with a properly functioning mind award someone like Hawa Koomson, who was involved in shooting and killing Ghanaians during the election?"

“We have begun conferring state honours on looters and murderers. What are we doing? We are teaching the youth that, after all, there is nothing wrong with looting state coffers, that there is nothing wrong with shooting and killing your fellow Ghanaians,” he claimed.

Mr Nketia believes that with the establishment of a committee to oversee the awards, those who truly deserve recognition would be honoured, rather than following the current approach of the president.

He was speaking at this year's 31st revolution anniversary of the NDC, held in Accra on Tuesday, December 31.