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President Akufo-Addo
President Akufo-Addo

President Akufo-Addo puts job on line

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is speaking so well, tough and good. Since his inauguration on January 7, 2017, the President’s pronouncements are always on point and resonate so well with the citizenry.

It was precision l­­­­eadership on display when the President addressed the traditional authorities last week with a bold pledge to stop the ‘galamsey’ (illegal mining) menace ruining national development efforts. He even went a step further with a public declaration that he is prepared to put his job as President of Ghana on the line to safe-guard and secure the nations’s interest and future.

To say the least, this is not the first time a President of Ghana has put his presidency on the line. The immediate former President, John Dramani Mahama, during the 2016 electioneering also did same when he stopped the teachers and nurses trainees allowances.

In September 2016, while addressing students of the University of Cape Coast, as part of his campaign tour, President Mahama said his government would not restore teacher and nurses trainees allowance, even if it would cost him the 2016 presidential election. He said his stand was grounded on principle rather than mere politicking, which was a stock in trade of his opponents.

“For partisan politics purposes, you have your political opponent come and say when we come back we will restore training allowances to colleges of education and nurses. For me, it is better to lose the election on principle than win it on falsehood,” he publicly stated. Yes, our former President, John Mahama, lost that election, but he also earned the respect of many Ghanaians who believed that in his mind he thought he was doing something very good for the nation Ghana and the well-being of its citizens.

Our two leaders, current President Akufo-Addo and former President Mahama, like other global leaders, have all taken this bold step of putting their presidency on the line because of their unalloyed belief and trust in knowing that they are doing something good for the nation.

Ghana will need such bold statements from their political leaders no matter how costly they will be for their political fortunes.

 

Bitter truth

However, the bitter truth in our governance processes over the years is that our political leaders speak a lot of good intentions until the time to act. That is where we see our leaders falter badly and terribly. This time round, we as citizens, and not spectators, must all pray for President Akufo-Addo not to falter badly and terribly but to walk his talk and match his promises and assurances with undertakings.

So far, having been in office for nearly seven months, President Akufo-Addo has been on point in speech delivery. He always resonates well with the people and everything he says attests to his commitment to the transformation agenda of the country.

Already, President Akufo-Addo has left no one in doubt that he is a man in a hurry and continuously demonstrates that in his public pronouncements.

However, “talk can be cheap” if it is not backed with concrete and practical actions. Therefore, going forward we as citizens shall expect nothing short of he and his appointees standing up to their words, promises and assurances.

Clearly, what the nation requires for accelerated growth are doers; leaders who are bold to hold the bull by the horn and take generational quick thinking decisions to transform the economy.

 

MMCEs must play roles

A few of our metropolitan and municipal chief executives (MMCEs) have also taken the bull by the horn and indicated their readiness and determination to doing things in the total interest of the nation. In some of the metropolis and municipalities, efforts are seen by some of these MMCEs to inject discipline and orderliness in their communities, but by and large, many of them are yet to hit the ground running and at best can be described as fast sleeping on their work.

 

High expectations

Recently, the Director of the Centre of Development Studies, University of Cambridge, Dr Ha-Joon Chang, who was in the country on an Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) invitation, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the high expectations of Ghanaians of the government of President Nana Akufo-Addo “is a step in the right direction and very good as that would help the government to work harder to meet the expectations of the populace.”

He, however, cautioned that in all those expectations, it was necessary for the people to be realistic.

To achieve this objective of high expectation requires both strong institutions and good and effective leadership and since the executive and his appointees have all given the signals of their commitment to deliver, Ghanaians expect nothing short of their pledges and promises fulfilled.

 

Campaign promises

Seven months down the lane, the government keeps on repeating its campaign promises such as “one village, one dam,” “one district, one factory” and “one constituency, one million dollars” slogan while the people wait with bated breath when those promises will see the light of the day. In September, the free Senior High School programme must roll out. With six or seven months in a government with a four year mandate, the time is ticking and tocking. It is time to match promises and assurances with concrete plan of action. After all, if any government will succeed, it will depend on how they undertake their promises and assurances.

For the President and his appointees, the thumbs of the electorates will determine whether he or his appointees deserve another mandate in the next elections in 2020.

As the President accounts for his stewardship to Ghanaians today, he will be expected to speak on a wide range of issues at a press conference which is in line with his pledge to be accountable to the people.

We, the citizens, will expect our president to tell us, the how, where and when the promises and assurances are being implemented or undertaking..

It also worthy to note that while expressing commitment, there is the need to strengthen and resource institutions to be able to monitor and sanction those who will fail to carry out the promises of government.

Time and again, we have seen some ministers and key appointees (MMCEs) under perform or falter to the extent that they have to face the music for their inaction or overactions, yet we see the executive dragging its feet when the time comes for the whip to be cracked.

It has been said that ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’ but we hope this time round no one would be spared when it comes to taking drastic actions against ministers of state and key appointees who falter since the President himself has put his job on the line because he knows that his success also depends heavily on how his appointees perform.

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