Mills directs appointees to 'see' footsoldiers

Open all doors to footsoldiers, Mills directs appointees

Disgruntled supporters of the National Democratic Congress can now have unlimited access to officialdom at all levels of government.

This follows a fiat issued by President John Mills to all government appointees to grant audience to party supporters and offer necessary assistance.

The government has come under intense pressure from jobless party functionaries who appear to be getting increasingly disillusioned over their plight.

And they have in some cases turned their frustrations not only on public toilets to secure its ownership and administration, but on perceived opponents in government institutions across the country.

Their argument mostly is that government officials have failed to honour campaign promises made to them, and to worsen their plight the officials no longer grant them audience since being voted into power.

Spokesperson to the President, Mahama Ayariga, told Joy News the new directive is to create space at all levels of government for aggrieved party members to meet with officialdom.

“The directive simply means that we should at all levels create space for what you will call the foot soldiers of the party to be able to access the various political appointees of the president with their legitimate concerns and needs and issues so that they can be addressed at the various levels.

“For instance it is more likely than not that a constituency matter will be better addressed by a district or municipal chief executive who is immediately a political head of the district and constituency than a regional minister or even at the level of the president," he explained.

According to him, the move will ease pressure on central government from party foot soldiers who erroneously think jobs and contracts are awarded at the level of the presidency.

“Anybody who knows the way government functions knows that no contract is awarded at the office of the president. It is hardly likely that contracts for the construction of schools and etc are awarded from the presidency. Recruitment to jobs and other opportunities of the state are all done at the level of departments and ministries not at the level of the presidency.

And so if the ministers and mayors, MCEs and DCEs all provide enough opportunity for the foot soldiers to have access to them with their needs and issues, we believe that the pressure for everybody to want to get to the top to meet the president will reduce,” he emphasised.

He dismissed assertions that the directive was skewed only in favour of party functionaries, insisting, the directive does not preclude other Ghanaians from meeting political heads.

He reiterated the president's commitment to be father to all and not discriminate against perceived party opponents.

Play the attached audion for excerpts of the interview with Mahama Ayariga

Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline