The Jubilee House cannot remain empty

CAMPAIGN promises should be made only after deep consideration of the practicality and possibility of carrying them out once in office. Though they are too often pushed aside once the campaign is over, the voters consider these platforms seriously.

PRESIDENT Mills' promise not to move into the Jubilee House is not one of these major issues.

MILLS made his point clear during that campaign that he considered the building of the Jubilee House to be a waste of resources, vowing that he would turn the building into a chicken coop before making it the center of his administration.

NOW that his point has been taken, the Jubilee House remains vacant, now only temporarily housing the Foreign Ministry, which was ousted from its former building by fire.

WHATEVER politics went into building the Jubilee House, it has been constructed and has continued as a waste of resources, being maintained but remaining vacant.

THE Jubilee House has become a bigger distraction than it ever should have been simply because of President Mills' refusal to relocate the seat of government there. Without a concrete reason given by the President or his administration, this denial seems absurdly unproductive.

THERE is no reason to take up so much national attention over such a petty issue.

THIS adamancy to never occupy the Jubilee House will not solve any of the issues that President Mills raised during his campaign.

HE lamented that the NPP had spent lavishly to have the new building constructed while thousands of Ghanaians lived in poverty and could have directly benefited from even a portion of the funds spent on construction.

WHILE his outrage is understandable, there is nothing that Mills can do to reverse the expenses incurred during construction. Instead, he should continue to focus on current solutions, not allowing the Jubilee House to distract from legitimate problems facing the country.

SOMETHING must be done with that building, it should be used for something; otherwise, it further degrades all of the programs that the money for construction was originally diverted from. Not only was money put towards an unnecessary structure, but, adding insult to injury, that building is not even being used for anything.

IT is time for President Mills to move past such trivialities as the occupancy of a building and focus on the real issues. He should either give a more explicit reason for his refusal to move there, find a beneficial use for the space so that it does not go to waste, or simply renege on this least important of campaign promises and take residence.

Originating at www.theghanaianjournal.com