Hundred Days Of President Akufo-Addo’s Government – My Take

I have the strongest conviction that H. E. President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo has good intentions for Ghana as I see him taking some necessary steps in that regard. This conclusion is drawn from my doctoral thesis which is based on an extensive study of the political economy of Ghana. I have concluded in the thesis entitled, “The Impact of Globalisation on Social Policy – the Case of Donor Agencies and Basic Education in Ghana”, that, for Ghana to achieve her developmental goals, there is a need for unity of purpose by all Ghanaians.

This unity of purpose should be a resolve by all of us as Ghanaians to rise over personal, sectional, partisan and other parochial interests and focus on our collective interest to ensure that Ghana develops to a level where our individual interests will be catered for. Greed, which seems to have eaten deep into our moral fabric, only ends up destroying us. It is apparent that the average Ghanaian today is becoming increasingly aware of their rights and will not allow others to devour the national cake at their expense. This is being demonstrated in various ways in the media, in elections and what have you.

It is for this reason that I laud President Akufo-Addo’s decision to engage his predecessors as a step in the right direction towards seeking the unity of the country so that together, we can effectively tackle the development challenges of our dear nation. These eminent personalities do not just have experiences which the president can utilize but represent different sections and interests of the Ghanaian populace. Therefore, the president’s ability to carry them along with him can go a long way to unite the country.

Another laudable initiate by the government has been the decision by H. E. Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia to grant the Multimedia Company Limited’s request to evaluate the government’s performance in hundred days of its tenure of office. Before the event, I was wondering about the essence of the exercise as I was not sure of the context of the evaluation. I questioned myself, for instance, whether it was going to be done by comparing the government’s hundred days in office with previous governments’ hundred days in office. I did not just get the essence of it.

After the exercise, however, I was left with no iota of doubt in my mind that the exercise was a very useful one. It did not just offer the government a platform to render an account of its stewardship to Ghanaians after hundred days in office, but it also afforded the populace an opportunity to see the direction the government is heading so that they can contribute their quota in that regard. The programme is suggestive of the fact that the situation where governments were voted into office and were compelled to render account of their stewardship only during the next election is past and gone. The Multimedia Company Limited, therefore, needs commendation for championing the course of civil society audit of the executive. Of course, the Ghanaian media is being lauded internationally for its vibrancy. It is hoped that the general populace will take a cue of this to perform their roles as responsible citizens by contributing their quota to the developmental process, including demanding accountability from all public officials and not just politicians alone.

The advice I would like to offer my party and government is that we need to guard against slippages that can expose us unnecessarily to public critique. Slippages, such as the extremist behaviour of some of our party loyalists’ against former NDC government officials and party functionaries, need to be avoided. Let’s endeavour to resolve our grievances within our party and government. We should remember that NPP and NDC are both made up of Ghanaians and we can only succeed in our quest to build our nation through unity of purpose. We cannot succeed as a government without the support of the opposition. That is why we should endeavour to unite the country.

The opposition and the general populace also need to be measured in their critique of government policies, programmes and actions. There is the need to criticize government constructively by anchoring critiques with evidence. It would be recalled that H. E. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia acknowledged suggestions made by some of the audience at the hundred days’ evaluation programme by indicating his readiness to address them at the appropriate quarters. Political equalization has been the bane of our politics since our freedom fighters disagreed among themselves on to whether to seek independence immediately or within the shortest possible time. This has led to one political party or individuals and groups of individuals taking revenge on one another. This unfortunate situation has definitely not helped our development effort and, therefore, needs to be stopped.

It is my candid opinion that President Nana Akufo-Addo means well for this country and needs our support in a form of unity of purpose towards tackling the development challenges of our dear nation together. Let us remember that Ghana belongs to all of us. If it succeeds, we will all succeed and if it fails, we will all fail!

Long Live Ghana!
Dr. Adams Sulemana Achanso
Socio-Political Analyst
UDS, Development Education Studies
Tamale
Dr. S. A. Achanso, B. A. Arts (Legon), Ph.D. (Lincoln)

Lecturer and HoD: Development Education Studies

Faculty of Education
U.D.S.
Tamale, Ghana.
0204500622/0249540749
Patience hurts but it heals perpetually so exercise it!