The Central Regional Minister Again

Samuel Sarpong, Central Regional Minister

The Central Regional Minister, Samuel Sarpong, is in the news again. He was expectedly the subject of discussion on the morning shows of many radio stations yesterday after his brawny performance in hotels in the Cape Coast municipality.

Ordering a platoon of policemen and immigration officers to follow him on an illegal immigrants hunting expedition in hotels in the regional capital is something we cannot fathom.

We have been reliably informed that top immigration officials are at their wits end wondering about the unusual development. Some of them are unable to handle questions the action has provoked, since embarrassing a minister of state is a risk they cannot take now.

Under such circumstances the PRO would have to balance the truth with an attempt at saving the face of the minister, whose notoriety appears to have reached high heavens.

The manner in which regional ministers can order security agencies in their areas of jurisdiction to, as it were, embark on inappropriate operations should be reviewed lest they create irreparable damage to the image of the state in the future.

The minister's operation was so crudely done that the bad impression that the action will live in the memories of foreigners in such hotels is doubtlessly negative and one requiring intervention by the President.

We are unable to, however, state hand on heart, whether the President can call such erring ministers to order since there is no precedence available to show for it.

Perhaps, when next time ministerial nominees appear before the parliamentary vetting committee a way of establishing their appreciation of government business and temperament must be found to protect us from such embarrassing acts by crude ministers.

The fallouts from the minister's misconduct on our tourism industry can only be imagined. Such little misdemeanours have a way of eventually undoing the many efforts we have made towards achieving certain goals as a nation. Yet we appear not to be taking critical look at them.

When Mr. Sarpong's weird operations find space on the net, which we are sure would be the case, the effects are going to be enormous and difficult to reverse.

We should not allow such personalities who have no appreciation of the proper workings of the state machinery to continue to throw spanners into the already damaged works of the incumbent administration.

We are sure that he has been emboldened by the silence of the President or the Chief of Staff after his brute assault of a poor tipper driver who accidentally crossed the path of a Land Cruiser belonging to the errant regional minister.