Former Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has entreated political leaders and actors to shift away from what he terms "slash and burn" politics to collectively drive national development.

According to him, the ideas of opposing parties should not be rejected solely because a ruling government disagrees or seeks to score cheap political points.

Dr. Adwutum observed that some political opponents often criticise government policies and projects, not because they are inherently bad, but to score political points.

"Sometimes, your opponents know what you're doing is right, but they may say it's bad in order to score political points. I've always said that E-blocks were a good thing, but if the location is not suitable for a Day School, I will add a dormitory block so that the building becomes useful to the community," he said.

Speaking to JoyNews during a TEKTALK event organised by the Students’ Representative Council of the KNUST, Dr. Adutwum suggested a bipartisan approach to critical national initiatives.

"If we have some critical national commissions in the future, let's look at how we can do bi-partisan representation, where if the party in power selects three people, the party that is not in power can select two," he proposed.

The TEKTALK event was under the theme: “Pioneering National Transformation through Politics, Finance, and Entertainment”.

Sharing his thoughts on the role of politics in driving national transformation, the Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe emphasised that politics can be a “force for good” and explained how he used his political career to make a difference.

“I sponsored 150 students in my constituency to become engineers and doctors. I also championed STEM education, and now STEM is a household word. And so, politics can be a ‘force for good’ for national transformation,” said Dr. Osei-Adutwum.

Founder and CEO of 3Music Network, Baba Sadiq Abdulai Abu, also spoke on the role of the entertainment industry in driving national transformation.

According to him, politics plays a foundational role in creating an environment for economic growth.

“Politics sets the tone and avenue for national transformation. Creating a political environment is the genesis of having a very strong economy. If politics sets the tone, everything else can be built on it, including finance,” said Baba Sadiq.