Beware, Mr President

It has occupied my mind in as a Ghanaian to make some suggestions which I believe might create equilibrium in the state of affairs of the nation. However, should any of my suggestion strip off to be unpleasant, I should be given a room to retract, taken into consideration, the goodwill of a patriotic citizen? My heart troubles and my desire to speak grow in reference to the impending reshuffle and appointments because the latent effects on the economic and political pendulum of the country. The fallacy of not appointing the right caliber of people will have unprecedented effect on the party that the President belongs, his legacy and the growth of Ghana as a nation. It is time for the President to get busy and appointment action oriented, seasoned and well tested people to fulfill his agenda.

I do not know what the President intends to do, however, if his legacy and the life of the party he represents has any meaning to him ,then I would suggest in no uncertain terms to the President that it is imperative that his cabinet for the last days of his administration represent his ambition. The new cream of appointments must represent his agenda and believes. They must be conscious, well balanced, dedicated, selfless and motivated people who would be able to carry out his proposals even when he is out of the country either on official duties on behalf of the country or African Union. The nation gave our President, Mr Kuffour the mandate to rule the country and he has less than 18 months before the real auditors (the citizenry) are called upon to assess his work based on his campaign promises and the state of the nation. If he is able to articulate his views and support his claims with concrete proofs, the NPP will surely be in the driver’s seat again, however, if the results turn out to be the contrarily, then only God can envisage what the future will be because many of his people might not see the promised land .(Parliament) . It is therefore very important that all the party functionaries who care for the party be objective and realistic in assessing situations and evolving the best strategies to help the President achieve his agenda. I am not trying to scare anybody with my analysis but to highlight on the truth that many people in the political arena detest and abhor. We should remember that politics is all about perception and Ghanaians are watching!. In other words, to be forewarned is to be forearmed.

I believe that it is always good to know the truth even if one decides not to work with it because it helps to plan better than to be flattered with outrageous and unfounded statements. Our leadership should be weary of people who parade at the corridors of power for their own personal aggrandizement. We are engaged in serious trials in the history of our country’s development and we need serious-minded people to carry our nation to the “promise land”. There is grave disillusionment within the rank and file of the party functionaries and sympathizers and it will take something more than party slogans and mere political statements to drive people from their houses to the polling stations unless the leadership endeavor to show solid proof and the President has less than 18 months to do so. NDC can assume control not on the bases that they have the support of the majority but on the facts that sympathizers of NPP might not vote. I know that some people might not like my frank and open assessment of our political situation but that is the fact. I also know that people will always attempt to chastise you without looking at the evidence when you touch on issues that affect the party they love and their leaders -ex-President Rawlings and President Kufour. That is fine and I can understand people’s emotions and live with it but we have to love Ghana more with all our allegiance than our respective parties. We should remember that it is our basic civic responsibility to question the actions of our leaders for it is by doing so that we can get into their inherent philosophies and believes.

The 2008 election is going to be very interesting because of the stakes at hand. As I have alluded to in other publications, if the NDC had elected Dr Spio Garbra, the terrain would have been scary for the NPP sympathizers. However, with the selection of Prof Atta-Mills, although not a bad choice, the NDC’s success or failure will depend on the independent voting block which technically constitute about 14 % of the electorate and that is an area where the Rawlings factor will carve in, it can make it happen or otherwise. I have nothing against Prof just that he has to advice his boss to be keep his cool and leave Ghanaians alone. NPP, technically has about 46% of the voting block with NDC controlling about 42 % which makes it statistically dead even. The difference, my brothers and sisters will come from the independent voting block which has no allegiance to any party but vote base on their understanding of issues and expectations. That withstanding, it is important for the President to get busy to ensure that promises are well executed as a measure of saving his legacy, the party and most importantly preventing a paradigm shift.

Ghana is for us to develop and transform into a show piece within which one can come and enjoy within the framework of productivity, happiness and the rule of law as alluded to by our Late President Dr Nkrumah. We owe ourselves a duty to influence the leadership to ensure that the right caliber of people are chosen to lead the nation. Our bad choices does not only slow down the engine of growth but also subject us to doubts as to whether the black man with all the available human and material resources is capable of ensuring good governance. It is because of these reasons that I humbly request the President to take caution as a friend and appoint people without relevance to family ties, loyalty and friends. Time and tide is not on the President’s side which underscores the urgency of my call on him to be wiser and circumspect in his impending re-shuffle. Although, people have started parading information to the effect that Mr Kofi Jumah is earmarked for a Ministerial Appointment, I hope that is not true because it will be a disaster to reward his incompetent friend having succeeded in transforming the City of Kumasi into a big village. It pays to be guided by the principle of efficiency and dependability.

Life on this planet is all about ensuring a good name and better memories because our quest for riches and earthly gains will not take us far. It is therefore rewarding to embark on issues that tend to redeem our image and project our name even when we are long gone. We should all remember that everything shall come to pass leaving behind memories which can be good or bad depending on our deeds on this planet. Dr Kwame Nkrumah died years ago but his memories still permeates through the length and breath of Ghana because of his visible works. If the incumbent President wish to leave a legacy worth remembering then he the opportunity to select conscious, dedicated and proven Ghanaians around the globe without emphasizing on the party functionaries only to help him accomplish his mission.

Our fore fathers had dreams and expectations, so must we. As a country with a common destiny, we owe ourselves a duty to be part of our decision making process. It is by doing so that we can forge a future with optimism and hope. We have the best and the brightest with untapped resource capable of meeting challenges of the 21 sty Century. It is now the responsibility of our President to harness the best material available to help him pursue his agenda to redeem us from our crises-ridden situation and project us into the future with hope.

ERIC KWABENA EDUSEI, VA

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