Features and Opinions

Last week, the Deputy Executive Director of the National Service Scheme (NSS), Nana Boakye, said the Ford Expedition given to President Mahama by the Burkinabe contractor, Djibril Kanazoe, was among the fleet of vehicles missing at the seat of government.

The story is told of a teacher who left his class for some minutes to go and consult another teacher in a classroom about 200 metres from his own.

The brouhaha surrounding the alleged kickback offered members of the Parliamentary Appointments Committee (PAC) engaged in the vetting of President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s cabinet appointees-designate must be promptly resolved, in order to give the new administration the requisite opportunity to begin taking care of the people’s business in a timely fashion.

Our wise elders have warned us that if a man dies by stumbling over a stone, we do not run to his funeral. For the fear of also stumbling, we walk carefully to such funerals. Perhaps, it is because of this conventional wisdom that some people grumble that President-elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has made a dangerous gamble. They say this may cause him to stumble and eventually tumble into his political tomb.

Not long ago, a certain youthful president of our republic surrounded himself with equally youthful young men and women. He was accused of debasing the Presidency and running the state like a game of candy crush. His critics thought he should have hired experienced hands to handle the affairs of the state. Their beef was not so much about the ages of President Mahama’s appointees. Their main concern was the appointees’ notoriety as vicious attack dogs, which some of them mistook for popularity.

They were young men and women whose tongues were sharper than a coconut seller’s cutlass. Most of them were PhD holders in insults and vilification of perceived political enemies. Former President and Founder of the NDC, Jerry John Rawlings, referred to them as “babies with sharp teeth.” Some people believe they were the reason President Mahama lost the election. The attitudes of some people in the Flagstaff House lowered the dignity of the highest office of our republic. In an article titled, “Is the Chief of Staff a Leper?” which I published on this platform, I stated the reasons.

When Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo got the opportunity to be driven in the only vehicle with the Ghana Coat of Arms as its number plate, one of the main expectations was that he would restore dignity to the Presidency. But when he named the people who would be helping him in the Flagstaff House (which he intends to revert back to its original name, the Jubilee House), hell came crashing onto mother earth.

When 33-year old Samuel Abu Jinapor was named as a Deputy Chief of Staff, some people from the President’s party raised eyebrows. Then yesterday, the President-elect named the full list of his core staff at the Presidency. They included 39-year-old Francis Asenso-Boakye, also a deputy Chief of Staff; 33-year-old Eugene Arhin, the Director of Communications at the Presidency; and 30-year-old Clara Napaga Tia Sulemana, a Presidential Staffer.

With these names above, can we say Nana Akufo-Addo repeated Mahama’s mistake of surrounding himself with young, inexperienced and incompetent babies with sharp teeth? This question is difficult to answer with a yes or no unless the components of the question are treated separately.

Some of them are young. That is a fact. They may fit into the description of babies. They have, however, been mixed with old and middle-aged staffers. The director of State Protocol, Hassan Ahmed, is 62; while the Director of Research, Victor Newman; and the Chief of Staff, Akosu Frema Osei-Opare are both 69 years old. The Director of Operations at the Presidency, Lord Commey, is 48; and the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo, Asante is 53; the same age as the Personal Assistant to the President, Saratu Atta.

Do the young people in this team have sharp teeth or tongues? No! Unlike a number of the young men who served in Mahama’s government, it is very difficult to point to any of the above youth as uncouth, insulting or a loose canon. They are disciplined young professionals. My elder brother often says, the alcoholic content in power is 80% so they must be careful it doesn’t get into their heads if they want to keep their sanity.

Are the young people in this team experienced and competent enough for their positions? In the Ghanaian context of experience, they are not experienced. In our society, we like to be introduced as “a journalist with 40 years of experience.” Nobody cares if in those 40 years, their neighbours did not know they were journalists. Motivational Speaker and author Caroline McHugh says not all people who tell you about their years of experience at something are actually experienced: “The people that say to you they have fifteen years’ experience when they mean one year fifteen times? They literally repeat themselves year after year…”

The work at the presidency is an administrative duty and not policy matters that requires technocrats. It doesn’t require rocket science to do that. Any young, loyal, dedicated, intelligent and well-mannered man or woman can do it very well, provided there are responsible adults to whip them into line when they go wayward.

It is too early for the NDC to start gloating and comparing Akufo-Addo’s “boys and girls” with those of President Mahama. The question they should ask is whether Akufo-Addo’s boys have sharp teeth like Mahama’s boys. They should ask whether Akufo-Addo’s “babies” will refer to Uhuru Kenyata as the President of Ghana in an anniversary brochure. Will Akufo-Addo’s Director of Communications attack journalists and destroy their gadgets without being punished? Will they pack journalists into a rusty tipper truck to cover a colourful ceremony at the Independence Square? Will Akufo-Addo’s boys and girls be as incompetent, arrogant and repulsive as some of Mahama’s young appointees? We cannot say Akufo-Addo has repeated Mahama’s blunder until we watch how his young appointees’ perform.

On account of how some young people conducted themselves in the past administration, it has become very difficult to appoint the youth into responsible positions in government. Nana Akufo-Addo has taken a huge, bold gamble. These young people must reciprocate this gesture by serving with humility and dignity. They should serve in a way that will bring honour to the President, the Presidency and to themselves. But they should be firm and adhere to what the Holy Bible teaches us in 1Timothy 4:12: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”

They should not corrupt themselves. They should appreciate the enormity of the task ahead of the man they are helping to deliver on their party’s electoral promises. They should not turn themselves into “goro boys” and “goro girls” on the corridors of power. If they fail, they will fail Nana. They will fail their party. They will fail their nation. They will fail the young people who look up to them for hope and inspiration. But they will be the ultimate losers.

People like Nana Akufo-Addo will soon outlive their usefulness. There’s nothing much for them to aspire to. But those in their 30s have a lot ahead of them. They should know that they have been given these positions not because they were the loudest attacks dogs who were unleashed on political opponents. At the end of their tenure, we need to see maturity.

Fiifi Kwetey the MP and Minister of State in 2016 did not sound differently from Fiifi Kwetey the NDC propaganda secretary, but people like Samuel Okudjeto Ablakwa matured considerably in their new roles.

I wish the young people who have been given and will be given the opportunity to serve in the government well. Yours is a referendum on the character of the youth. You have been given an opportunity to put Nana Akufo-Addo to shame or to make him proud. Those of us on the touchlines can only offer suggestions and advice. In your hands lies the ultimate choice.

To Nana Akufo-Addo, my advice remains the same:

God gives us our neighbours but we choose our friends. And it is we, not God, who will suffer the consequences of whatever choice we make. You have no say in who becomes a member of the NPP. But you have a say in who serves in your government.

You may make a mistake or two in your appointment but if they mess up, don’t hesitate to fire them. After your tenure of office, let it not be said that your appointees let you down. That will be a lame excuse because on the ballot paper we saw you, and not your appointees. You have the power to appoint and fire. May God grant you the wisdom and grace to excel in your government.

The writer, Manasseh Azure Awuni, is a journalist with Joy 99.7 FM. His email address is azureachebe2@yahoo.com. The views expressed in this article are his personal opinions and do not reflect, in any form or shape, those of The Multimedia Group, where he works

When the much-vilified old Man showed up again for the third time, his fate on the chopping board of the sharp-teethed babies and ill-bred adults was more predictable than the electoral results of Bantama or Ketu South. They said he was too old to contest. He contested.

The first time I heard about Jon Benjamin was in November 2014. I was in the United States participating in the International Visitors Leadership Programme on Investigative Journalism, but I was constantly monitoring developments back home. When I went online one morning, I was greeted with a needless storm of confusion on social media. There was an outrage against a certain British High Commissioner who had been in Ghana for only six months but would not mind his own business.

The Multimedia Group has a comprehensive election coverage project dubbed Election Headquarters. From the Election Day until the results are announced, almost all employees of the company play a role. All of the company’s resources are also put to active use, especially the telephone lines.

Last week, many of the NDC supporters who said their party was more united than the Holy Trinity are suddenly realising cracks and divisions that had been there for a long time. They are blaming the leadership of the party for not addressing them. The “blamestorming” has started, especially on social media.

A certain Jerry John Rawlings, we were told, had outlived his usefulness and had lost his impact. Today, they say you cannot sideline the founder of a party and succeed. 

Read more at: http://www.manassehazure.com/2016/12/manassehs-folder-losers-remember-winners-forget/

Ghana goes to polls tomorrow to elect a president and 275 parliamentarians.

Ghana’s President John Mahama is a man of the people who is known for his good humour, but forced onto the back foot by his country’s lacklustre growth in the runup to elections.

I can’t believe that the long-awaited Election 2016 is less than a week away. And it’s interesting that there has been no shortage of memorable developments this election is generating, such as what one can term the ‘strange case of the missing ballot boxes’.

The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) yesterday held a press conference and wildly accused President John Dramani Mahama and his brother, Ibrahim Mahama, of attempting to bribe the Northern Regional Chairman of the NPP, Daniel Bugri Naabu. Mustapha Hamid, who addressed the media, said the intention was to get Bugri Naabu to turn against the NPP’s flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, portray him as a divisive ethnocentric bigot and destroy his chances of winning the 2016 elections.

THE BAWUMIA FACTOR IN THE 2016 ELECTIONS: WHY IT REPRESENTS A MORTAL THREAT TO THE NDC AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO TRANSFORM THE BASIS OF PARTY POLITICS IN GHANA.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is the vice presidential candidate of the NPP in the upcoming December 7 elections. It is not in the nature of presidential contests for a party or campaign to aim a significant portion of its attacks and propaganda at the vice presidential candidate of its main rivals. Of course, being an integral part of a presidential ticket, a VP candidate is fair game in a hotly contested presidential election. The point here, though, is one of proportion. Why has the NPP’s Bawumia become such a thorn in the flesh of the NDC and a focal point of rival attack and attention in this year’s contest for the presidency?

I stand accused. I stand accused of hating the President of the Republic of Ghana, H.E. John Dramani Mahama. I stand accused of hating the National Democratic Congress (NDC). And others accuse me of hating the government. This is because of the work I do. I’m an investigative journalist. And a writer.

Before writing this piece, we were hesitant. Not so much because we were afraid of being inaccurate, but because we didn’t want to hurt the sensibility of our friend, Kwabena Boadu who could best be described as a man of words.

Last weekend, President John Dramani Mahama stirred the dangerous beehive of ethnicity. And he got himself deadly verbal stings from across the country. Even people who have no right to open their mouths in this matter had their bite. It reminded me of Dr. Paa Bobo’s song, “Abaa saa.”

IN this election Ghana is at a crossroads. The current NDC government is throwing away the economic credibility of the nation, and President Mahama’s handling of the economy has raised serious questions that need answers.

Death is the wish of some, the relief of many, and the end of all,” Craing Gang.

But that was not our wish when death unexpectedly laid its cold hands on Madam Eva Lokko, an accomplished woman of our land. Her sudden demise came as a huge surprise to many because no one heard about her ailment.

The Government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) under President John Evans Atta-Mills, fraudulently paid a financier of the party GHc 51.2 million cedis between 2010 and 2011. A Supreme Court Judge, Justice Jones Dotse said it appeared those who facilitated the payment“entered into an alliance to create, loot and share the resources of this country as if a brigade had been set up for such an enterprise”.

The initial title of this article was, “Any idiot can borrow money and build projects.” I had to change it because those who might not read beyond the headline would, as usual, accuse me of insulting the President. But that is the essence of this article.

How did this just happen? Unusual, unexpected, strange, weird, unprecedented and now bizarre are but few of the words used by mainstream media to describe a bitter election that has produced Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States of America .

It is exactly one month to the crucial Presidential and Parliamentary elections, but everything is in a limbo. Instead of the count-down, we are now counting the number of court suits against the Electoral Commission.

Three months ago, I was told by a scientist of the University of Cape Coast that Ghana’s main water bodies will almost all have been destroyed in the next five years, if things go on the way they are going.

President John Mahama hardly delivers great speeches. It is one sad characteristic of our presidents in recent times. Mr. John Mahama is a good writer, but considering the heavy burden he bears, he cannot have time to write all his speeches himself.

Mrs Angela Merkel (AM) walks into her living room at the end of another day in her life as Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) are fiercely fighting for the hearts and minds of people in the three regions of northern Ghana – the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

Anytime I use the Accra-Kumasi road, undoubtedly the busiest network in the country, I come back annoyed. I get angry because of what I detect as a deliberate policy of this administration, not to bring the construction of the 31.7 kilometre Teacher-Mante-Suhum-Apedwa stretch of the 250 kilometre Accra-Kumasi road, to a definite conclusion.

When the member of parliament for North Dayi Constituency, George Loh, was given the opportunity to critique the manifesto of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), he decided to sink low.