Professor Kwesi Botchwey, a former Finance Minister in the NDC one regime expressed concern about the current political culture of acrimony in the country and advocated for a more rigorous political culture devoid of it. He explained that the abusive political culture was not good for the nation's political atmosphere. Professor Botchwey, who is the executive chairman of the African Development Policy Ownership Initiative (ADPOI), was speaking at the third and final day of the 9th Kwame Nkrumah Memorial lectures organised by the University of Cape Coast (UCC) here yesterday. The lecture was on the theme; "The relevance of Kwame Nkrumah's Legacy in Ghana's contemporary political economy." Speaking on the topic, "Could the relevance of the legacy in today's Ghana," Professor Botcwey condemned debates and phone in programmes on radio and said that the airtime was being used for needless discussions. He stated that there was the need for the country to have a culture of civility in its politics with issue driven debates. Prof. Botchwey asked political parties to clearly define their vision and policies in their manifesto for people to understand their concept well. Touching on the economy, he championed the adoption of a more vigorous effort in domestic resource mobilisation. He explained that it would enable the two institutions to concentrate on their core functions without duplicating the efforts of the other. The nation, according to Prof. Botchwey, had not been structurally transformed and emphasised the need for the country to channel its strength on areas she could compete effectively. The discovery of oil, he said, was not the panacea for the country to attain the transformation needed without concentrating on areas that she had a competitive advantage. On the public sector reform, Prof. Botchwey said the country's public service was not the best, saying, "The sector has lost a lot of skills and is beset with political problems." He underscored the need for a fresh wave into the public sector to insulate it from political interference. Prof. Botchwey was later conferred with an honorary doctorate Degree of Law (Honoris Causa) by the UCC for his commitment to scholarships and academic excellence. The honour was also in recognition of his initiative and implementation of global economic policies as well as the advancement of knowledge and education. He becomes the 34th distinguished person to be honoured by the university. The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, in a speech said the conferment was the university's way of celebrating excellence. She explained that the institution of the lecture was to address the social, economic and political interest of the continent which was championed by the late Dr. Nkrumah. The chairman of the University Council, Justice A.K.B. Ampiah, a retired Supreme Court judge, in his remarks paid tribute to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah for his foresight and contribution to the development of the action and the African continent as a whole. Source: The Ghanaian Times