Open Letter to the President, John Dramani Mahama

Your Excellency, President John Dramani Mahama,

I am writing to you about matters of great importance not only to me but to all Ghanaians as a whole. I am very much aware that your slogan is "yentie obiara" and that you affectionately danced to Daddy Lumba's version of that song, anytime you came to Kumasi. However, this time round, I am pleading with you to listen to what I have to say. You have every right to respond, refute or agree to any of the issues I am going to talk about. You may choose to remain silent but you know very well that silence means consent. I even heard that the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu, even joined you at the Kumasi Airport to dance to Daddy Lumba's song, "Yentie Obiara". Does this embarrassing wriggling of the waist by Asantehene to your favourite song indicate that he agrees with you not to listen to anyone?

Asantes, and for that matter Ghanaians, do not agree with you on two points. The Asantes in Kumasi totally disagree with you when you declared in Kumasi that even if you and your NDC tarred all the Kumasi roads with gold, the Asantes would never appreciate and they would say in unison, "Yennyee hwee" (we have done nothing). Mr. President, do you realize the implication of what you said? You have not only insulted the Asantehene, your dance partner, who also lives in Kumasi but all NDC members and supporters who live in Kumasi. Mr. Mahama, are you going to apologize? As if to add insult to injury, you stood at the Kumasi Airport and declared it an International Airport. With all respect, Mr. President, you have travelled to more than twenty) countries and Ghanaians want you to tell them which of the airports you landed at look like Kumasi Airport? Fixing lights on the runway alone does not make it an international airport. The size and length of the tarmac still remain the same and does not measure up to international standard. Are you happy and satisfied with the millions of dollars that were spent in fixing mere lights at the runway? Who does the calculations for you, Mr. President? Asem beba dabi!

Mr. President, you may confirm or deny what I am about to tell you. I don't know whether I should believe it or not. However, the news came from a well-respected and reliable source, Justice Annan, the hard-hitting and renowned investigative journalist at Choice FM who interviewed a lady a few weeks ago concerning your relationship with her best friend, one Frances Gyamfi, the wife of a Chief executive whose name and workplace were not disclosed. According to the lady who was interviewed, she affirmed that Frances Gyamfi is your concubine and the twins she gave birth to are yours. She said that her husband is on a study trip abroad. According to her, the Chief Executive came down to Ghana but you silenced him with a sumptuous amount. Now, Mr. President, of the twenty children or so that you are reputed to have, how many of these are your real children and how many are adopted? With humility, I want to ask you. Will Frances Gyimah become your wife or still remain a concubine? You better decide fast because the husband has left her.

I will suggest you focus your attention on Ghana's development because many things are going wrong. You have received your salary for December and you will soon receive your January salary. The members of parliament have received theirs too. The ministers are also paid even before the month ends. Allowances, petrol and maintenance of their cars are not part of their salaries. Are you aware, Mr. Mahama that teachers, nurses, dentists, doctors and many salaried workers have not been paid for two solid years? I know you are not afraid of strikes and demonstrations all because of this "yentie obiara" syndrome. Have you ever thought within your conscience how these unpaid workers manage to put food on their tables, pay their bills and their children's school fees? Will you be able to forego your salaries, that of the ministers and MPs for four months and use those monies to meet the unpaid salaried workers halfway? Etua wo yonko ho a wose etua dua mu.

Mr. President, I would like to make a simple suggestion to you. I know that the problem of paying workers and companies has plagued your government for far too long. The non-payment of Zoom Lion has left the city of Accra dirty due to their refusal to collect the city's garbage. This has given rise to cholera outbreak which has so far claimed the lives of hundreds of people. My suggestion is that the burden of paying Zoom Lion must be removed from the government and placed on the heads of the Accra and Tema Metropolitan Assemblies. These Assemblies make close to ghc10 million a day from tariffs, issuing tickets to hawkers and what they get from drivers and many more. What they get a month will be enough to pay Zoom Lion for months. I have arrived at this amount because the boss of Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly said in a radio interview that the Assembly makes ghc10 million from Kejetia Lorry station and the central market alone.

The School Feeding Programme is collapsing. The government owes suppliers millions of Ghana cedis. As a result not all schools are giving free food and those who are lucky to enjoy it, are served low class food. Mr. President, take bold decisions and scrape free uniforms and let parents buy their own school uniforms for their children. The government can then use the money to defray the cost of the School Feeding Programme. It will then be easy for the government to tackle the debts of the National Health Insurance. Will my suggestion help you, Mr. President?

My last suggestion or advice to you is to open your eyes wide because some of your ministers are eating into your beard. Are you aware that Asiedu Nketia, aka General Mosquito, owns eleven petrol stations throughout the country? Are you also aware that one of your ministers has bought acres of land in the United States of America? Will you believe me if I say the fire that destroyed the medical storage was arson? Begin to put your house in order otherwise demonstrations upon demonstrations will destabilize your government. A word to the wise is enough.


Written by Stephen Atta Owusu
Author: Dark Faces at Crossroad
Email: Stephen.owusu@email.com