President’s Akufo Addo’s media encounter not praise forum and self-aggrandizement

Information Minister Mustapha Hamid says President Akufo Addo’s media encounter on Tuesday is not an opportunity for government to be showered with praises, but to get feedback on his administration and how best to serve the mandate given to him by the people of Ghana.

Tomorrow’s encounter will be the first for the president since taking office in January this year, six months into a four-year mandate. It will also be the second time the government has engaged the media on its performance. The first was during the 100 days when Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia engaged a section of the public to respond to queries about the administration.

Speaking to Accra’s based JOyFM, Mr. Hamid said the exercise is a demonstration of the president’s commitment to accounting to the electorates. He said he will outline some successes chalked for the period under review.

 “This  press conference by the president is in line with his pledge when he took office to be accountable and open, and accessible to Ghanaians.”

According to him, as somebody who believes in the values underpinning democracy, President Akufo Addo feels the time is right for him to be speaking with the people of this country about what his government has been doing.

“He is a human being and not perfect and meet with people who give him ideas, criticize and offer suggestions so you take it on board to discuss.”

Responding to claims the exercise is too soon and could have been suspended until a year’s time, Mr. Hamid said a year is such a long time for the president to begin speaking to the people of Ghana, especially when he is aware of the mandate to do right by them.

“The president already has a policy that every month he will be in the region to interact with the people; interacting with the people will have to be frequent.”

The Information Minister said the president will make brief remarks, state some gains made for the period and open the platform for journalists to ask questions. He is confident the feedback from the forum will help shape government policies better.

Meanwhile, parliament will on the same day deliberate on the bill for the establishment of the office of the Special Prosecutor. President Akufo Addo promised to establish the office to be solely in charge of the prosecution of acts of corruption without the interference of any other person.  But there are suggestions some minority members will abstain from parliament tomorrow, because they are unhappy with the structure and motive of the bill.

www.primenewsghana.com/  GhanaNews